Factors motivating maternal healthcare clients to use mHealth interventions in rural Malawi.

Abstract

Client-facing mHealth interventions have the potential to address the inequalities in accessing health information. In maternal healthcare, mHealth interventions provide information to pregnant women on how they can stay healthy during pregnancy, as well as on the danger signs in pregnancy that can contribute to maternal mortality. This study investigated why maternal healthcare clients are motivated to use mHealth interventions. Data was collected using secondary data sources and semi-structured interviews with maternal clients who used Chipatala Cha Pa Foni mHealth intervention. The study found that access to and attitudes towards technology motivated maternal healthcare clients to use the mHealth intervention. Furthermore, women in rural areas were motivated to use mHealth interventions when the technology suppresses social-cultural norms, technology is designed with affordance potency in mind, women have trust in the source of information, and when communities practice the culture of sharing. These findings have the potential to broaden the understanding of what and why beneficiaries of digital health might be motivated to use digital technologies in poor-resource settings.