mHealth aims to improve access to health, a programme that seeks to address health problems in Fiji such as non communicable diseases (NCD’s), liver, Kidney, Heart, mental health, cancer and other medical related problems using mobile communications—such as PDAs and mobile phones—for health services and information. mHealth is working towards shared vision of preventing life style diseases.
mHealth is a not for profit programme that will benefit the unreachable, underprivileged and vulnerable communities as well as the general populate. mHealth offers services such as Subscription to Health & Medical tips, Body Mass Index and Donations through Short Code and MPAiSA towards fighting killer diseases. All donation to the causes one is passionate about such as Heart, Liver, Kidney, Cancer, Mental Health and NCD’s will go towards proactive measure and addressing humanitarian crisis and unmet medical needs. mHealth calls for the citizens to be champions for a better Fiji,. Every act of compassion can make a difference.
mHealth can be accessed through dialing *979# and following the options; 1. Donate, 2. BMI test, 3. Subscription and 4. About mHealth. The Vodafone mHealth will be executed in partnership with ACATA Trust Fiji. Formal studies and anecdotal evidence demonstrate that SMS alerts have a measurable impact on and a greater ability to influence behaviour than radio and television campaigns
This strategic technology programme seeks to strengthen the communities and its stakeholder with an aim to complement the United Nations and Vodafone Foundation’s commitment to improve access to health.
Short message service (SMS) messages now offer a cost-effective, efficient, and scalable method of providing outreach services for a wide array of health issues. In education and awareness applications, SMS messages are sent directly to users’ phones to offer information about testing and treatment methods, availability of health services, and disease management.
mHealth is well-positioned to address health challenges using tools currently available. For example, just as SMS alerts are useful in raising public health awareness of communicable diseases, these same types of alerts can be used to ensure patient adherence with treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes. SMS alerts can be sent out to address chronic diseases and mental health issues in urban areas such as smoking cessation and nutrition reminders. In the developing world, SMS alerts have proven particularly effective in targeting hard-to-reach populations and rural areas, where the absence of clinics, lack of healthcare workers, and limited access to health-related information all too often prevent peoplefrom making informed decisions about their health.
The explosive growth of mobile communications over the past decade offers a new hope for the promotion of quality healthcare. Among those who had previously been left behind by the ‘digital divide,’ hundreds of thousand people in Fiji now have access to reliable mobile technology, even while other technologies and health infrastructure are scarce. This explosion of mobile phone usage has the potential to improve health service delivery on a massive scale. There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the potential of mobile communications to radically improve healthcare services, increase access to healthcare and health-related information, particularly for hard-to-reach populations, to improve the ability to diagnose and track diseases. This UN and Vodafone Foundation report profiles more than 50 mHealth projects taking place in the developing world. For example, mobile technology can support increasingly inclusive health systems by enabling health workers to provide real-time health information and diagnoses in rural and marginalized areas where health services are often scarce or absent altogether
Over the next 10 years the cost of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke will take a tremendous toll on the national incomes of developing world countries. According to estimates by the WHO, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke together will cost about $555.7 billion in lost national income in China, $303.2 billion in the Russian Federation; $336.6 billion in India; and $49.2 billion in Brazil. Even in Fiji, the cost will be significant.
The long-term goal, and expectation, is that mHealth programs will have a demonstrable and significant positive impact on clinical outcomes such as reduced infant mortality, longer life spans, and decreased contraction of disease thus contributing to a healthier and more productive nation.