Negotiating Mobile Phone Usage for MHealth by Maternal Healthcare Clients Who Do Not Own Mobile Phones in rural Malawi

16 pages•Published: May 1, 2023

Priscilla Maliwichi, Wallace Chigona, Address Malata and Karen Sowon

Abstract

In poor-resource settings, owning a mobile phone could be an advantage to using developmental interventions based on mobile phones. However, maternal mHealth interventions in these settings are challenged due to low mobile phone ownership among women. Women are less likely to own a mobile phone than their male counterparts. Therefore, for maternal healthcare clients to use maternal mHealth intervention, it is expected that these clients negotiate mobile phone access and usage from owners of mobile phones in their communities. We employed qualitative research methods to understand how maternal healthcare clients who do not own mobile phones negotiate usage of mobile phones for maternal healthcare. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with maternal healthcare clients and mobile phone owners, and focus group discussions with the maternal healthcare clients. The study found that maternal healthcare clients used cooperative negotiating tactics such as issue-based, compromising, and accommodating to negotiate mobile phone usage. Negotiating mobile phone usage has the potential to enhance digital skills for mobile phone users who do not own mobile phones. The study may inform mHealth implementers on how they may sensitise beneficiaries of mHealth who lack prerequisite technologies on how to negotiate access of mobile phones for mHealth.

Keyphrases: malawi, maternal health, mhealth, negotiating tactics, negotiation

In: Hossana Twinomurinzi, Nkosikhona Theoren Msweli, Tendani Mawela and Surendra Thakur (editors). Proceedings of NEMISA Digital Skills Conference 2023: Scaling Data Skills For Multidisciplinary Impact, vol 5, pages 135-150.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/ZtV4
	https://doi.org/10.29007/4j22

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{DigitalSkills2023:Negotiating_Mobile_Phone_Usage,
  author    = {Priscilla Maliwichi and Wallace Chigona and Address Malata and Karen Sowon},
  title     = {Negotiating Mobile Phone Usage for MHealth by Maternal Healthcare Clients Who Do Not Own Mobile Phones in rural Malawi},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of NEMISA Digital Skills Conference 2023: Scaling Data Skills For Multidisciplinary Impact},
  editor    = {Hossana Twinomurinzi and Nkosikhona Theoren Msweli and Tendani Mawela and Surendra Thakur},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Education Science},
  volume    = {5},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2516-2306},
  url       = {/publications/paper/ZtV4},
  doi       = {10.29007/4j22},
  pages     = {135-150},
  year      = {2023}}

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