02331nas a2200349   4500000000100000008004100001653002200042653001300064653001300077653002500090653001900115653002300134653000900157653001300166653001100179653003400190653001700224653001100241653002400252653002900276653001500305100001200320700001500332700001600347700001400363245009100377856008300468300001100551490000800562520139700570022001401967       2014                            d10aTropical Medicine10aTanzania10aSoftware10aQualitative Research10aPilot Projects10aNeglected Diseases10aMale10aInternet10aHumans10aHealth Information Management10aFocus Groups10aFemale10aFeasibility Studies10aCommunity health workers10aCell Phone1 aMadon S1 aAmaguru JO1 aMalecela MN1 aMichael E00aCan mobile phones help control neglected tropical diseases? Experiences from Tanzania.  uhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953613006485?via%3Dihub  a103-100 v1023 a<p>The increasing proliferation of mobiles offers possibilities for improving health systems in developing countries. A case in point is Tanzania which has piloted a mobile phone-based Management Information System (MIS) for the control of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) where village health workers (VHWs) were given mobile phones with web-based software to test the feasibility of using frontline health workers to capture data at point of source. Based on qualitative case study research carried out in 2011, we found that providing mobile phones to VHWs has helped to increase the efficiency of routine work boosting the motivation and self-esteem of VHWs. However, despite these advantages, the information generated from the mobile phone-based NTD MIS has yet to be used to support decentralised decision-making. Even with improved technology and political will, the biggest hindrance to local usage of information for health planning is the lack of synthesised and analysed health information from the district and national levels to the villages. Without inculcating a culture of providing health information feedback to frontline workers and community organisations, the benefits of the intervention will be limited. If not addressed, this will mean that mobiles have maintained the one-way upward flow of information for NTD control and simply made reporting more hi-tech.</p>
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