Manoeuvring in the mountains : Exploring the potential of an information and communication technology system for community health workers in Nepal

Despite progress in global healthcare, rural communities remain marginalised from receiving healthcare access. Studies have recognised the importance of community health workers (CHW) in extending healthcare delivery to these communities as well as the transformative use of Information and Commun...

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Main Authors: Muhammad Nazran Ahmad, Faiz Mohd Irwan Law, Nadia Bte Mohamed Ismail
Other Authors: Arul Indrasen Chib
Format: Final Year Project
Language:English
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/38800
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-388002019-12-10T11:03:24Z Manoeuvring in the mountains : Exploring the potential of an information and communication technology system for community health workers in Nepal Muhammad Nazran Ahmad Faiz Mohd Irwan Law Nadia Bte Mohamed Ismail Arul Indrasen Chib Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication::Communication theories and models Despite progress in global healthcare, rural communities remain marginalised from receiving healthcare access. Studies have recognised the importance of community health workers (CHW) in extending healthcare delivery to these communities as well as the transformative use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for healthcare development. This research examines the potential of a sustainable ICT system for CHWs in Achham, Nepal, using the Technology-Community-Management-Vulnerabilities (TCMV) framework. The study examined the information and communication needs of stakeholders within the current system and assessed barriers to effectiveness. The research was conducted in conjunction with Nyaya Health, which operates the Bayalpata Hospital and runs a CHW programme in collaboration with the Nepali government. Qualitative research methods (n=57) respondents were engaged through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Findings revealed CHWs' work-related information needs were unmet due to inadequate communication infrastructure, medical training and education, and highly bureaucratic government protocols. Furthermore, CHWs were burdened by informational, economic, socio-cultural and physiological/psychological vulnerabilities. Based on the TCMV model, recommendations were made to equip CHWs with mobile handsets and to introduce SMSbased protocols to facilitate efficient patient scheduling and referral. This system should be accompanied by financial subsidy and training to operate the mobile technology. These proposals are small scale but can be adapted incrementally over time to ensure sustainability. Apart from informing policy, this research serves to guide the decisions of healthcare practitioners and influence local ownership in Achham's rural healthcare system. Bachelor of Communication Studies 2010-05-19T01:12:52Z 2010-05-19T01:12:52Z 2010 2010 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/38800 en Nanyang Technological University 156 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication::Communication theories and models
spellingShingle DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication::Communication theories and models
Muhammad Nazran Ahmad
Faiz Mohd Irwan Law
Nadia Bte Mohamed Ismail
Manoeuvring in the mountains : Exploring the potential of an information and communication technology system for community health workers in Nepal
description Despite progress in global healthcare, rural communities remain marginalised from receiving healthcare access. Studies have recognised the importance of community health workers (CHW) in extending healthcare delivery to these communities as well as the transformative use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for healthcare development. This research examines the potential of a sustainable ICT system for CHWs in Achham, Nepal, using the Technology-Community-Management-Vulnerabilities (TCMV) framework. The study examined the information and communication needs of stakeholders within the current system and assessed barriers to effectiveness. The research was conducted in conjunction with Nyaya Health, which operates the Bayalpata Hospital and runs a CHW programme in collaboration with the Nepali government. Qualitative research methods (n=57) respondents were engaged through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Findings revealed CHWs' work-related information needs were unmet due to inadequate communication infrastructure, medical training and education, and highly bureaucratic government protocols. Furthermore, CHWs were burdened by informational, economic, socio-cultural and physiological/psychological vulnerabilities. Based on the TCMV model, recommendations were made to equip CHWs with mobile handsets and to introduce SMSbased protocols to facilitate efficient patient scheduling and referral. This system should be accompanied by financial subsidy and training to operate the mobile technology. These proposals are small scale but can be adapted incrementally over time to ensure sustainability. Apart from informing policy, this research serves to guide the decisions of healthcare practitioners and influence local ownership in Achham's rural healthcare system.
author2 Arul Indrasen Chib
author_facet Arul Indrasen Chib
Muhammad Nazran Ahmad
Faiz Mohd Irwan Law
Nadia Bte Mohamed Ismail
format Final Year Project
author Muhammad Nazran Ahmad
Faiz Mohd Irwan Law
Nadia Bte Mohamed Ismail
author_sort Muhammad Nazran Ahmad
title Manoeuvring in the mountains : Exploring the potential of an information and communication technology system for community health workers in Nepal
title_short Manoeuvring in the mountains : Exploring the potential of an information and communication technology system for community health workers in Nepal
title_full Manoeuvring in the mountains : Exploring the potential of an information and communication technology system for community health workers in Nepal
title_fullStr Manoeuvring in the mountains : Exploring the potential of an information and communication technology system for community health workers in Nepal
title_full_unstemmed Manoeuvring in the mountains : Exploring the potential of an information and communication technology system for community health workers in Nepal
title_sort manoeuvring in the mountains : exploring the potential of an information and communication technology system for community health workers in nepal
publishDate 2010
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/38800
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