MOBILE HEALTH COMMUNICATION IN IMPROVING MATERNAL CARE IN NIGERIA
Abstract
The advent of Mobile Health (mHealth) communication has presented new opportunities for enhancing maternal care, especially in developing nations with high mortality rate. mHealth refers to the use of mobile devices and applications to deliver health related information, services and interventions. Maternal health, defined as the well-being of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, is a very important issue that relates to a critical period in a woman’s life. Most of the complications that women encounter in pregnancy and childbirth significantly contribute to the high morbidity and mortality for women of reproductive age in Nigeria. These complications have been linked to the unhealthy practices women adopt during pregnancy because of misinformation or inadequate information about their health. Concepts like Mobile health communication and maternal health and mortality in Nigeria were reviewed. An overview was done of mobile applications that aid in maternal health care and the benefits of mobile communication for maternal care. The study would be hinged on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) which posits that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) are key determinants of an individual's intention to use and actual usage of a technology. By utilizing mHealth communication in Nigeria can help significantly improve maternal care.
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