mHealth data collection in low– and middle

mHealth data collection in low– and middle–income countries

The current issue of the “Journal of Global Health” features a series on mHealth (the use of mobile devices in healthcare). mHealth has the potential to play an important role in low– and middle–income countries in a wide range of areas. A particular area with great potential to improve global health is using mHealth for data collection. New ideas for mHealth implementation in this area are to validate and conduct household surveys, to monitor large–scale programs, and to measure the global burden of disease.

The first article in the mHealth Series includes the aims and objectives of an mHealth project, the field site in China, and the detailed methods of two studies. In the second article, a conceptual model for measuring maternal, newborn and child health coverage by text messaging in China is proposed. In the third article, the feasibility of using text messaging to collect information on infant and young child feeding practice in rural China is explored. In the fourth article, factors that influence sample size calculations for mHealth–based studies are explored and strategies for increasing the participation rate are suggested.

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