Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
Faculty of Business Studies, Department of Management Information Systems (MIS), University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2017 Dec 29;17(1):182. doi: 10.1186/s12911-017-0578-2.
In Bangladesh, similar to its other South Asian counterparts, shortage of health workers along with inadequate infrastructure constitute some of the major obstacles for the equitable provision of reproductive healthcare services, particularly among the marginalized and underserved neighbourhoods. However, given the rapidly expanding broadband communication and mobile phone market in the country, the application of eHealth and mHealth technologies offer a window of opportunities to minimise the impact of socioeconomic barriers and promote the utilization of maternal healthcare services thereby. In the present study we aimed to investigate 1) the prevalence of usage of mobile phones for seeking childbirth services, 2) neighbourhood and socioeconomic disparities in the use, and 3) association between using mobile phones and the uptake of postnatal care among mothers and neonates.
Data for the present study came from Bangladesh Urban Health Survey 2013. Study subjects were 9014 married women aged between 15 and 49 years.
The overall rate of use of mobile phone was highest in City Corporation non-Slum areas (16.2%) and lowest in City Corporation Slum areas (7.4%). The odds of using mobile for seeking childbirth services were significantly higher among those who were living in non-slum areas, and lower among those who never attended school and lived in poorer households. Results also indicated that women in the slum areas who used mobile phone for childbirth service seeking, were 4.3 times [OR = 4.250;95% CI = 1.856-9.734] more likely to receive postnatal care for themselves, and those from outside the city-corporation areas were 2.7 times [OR = 2.707;95% CI = 1.712-4.279] more likely to receive postnatal care for the newborn.
Neighbourhood, educational and economic factors were significantly associated with the mobile phone utilization status among urban women. Promoting access to better education and sustainable income earning should be regarded as an integral part to the expansion of mHealth for maternal healthcare seeking behaviour.
在孟加拉国，与其他南亚国家一样，卫生工作者短缺以及基础设施不足是公平提供生殖保健服务的主要障碍之一，尤其是在贫困和服务不足的社区。然而，考虑到该国宽带通信和移动电话市场的迅速扩张，应用电子卫生和移动卫生技术为最小化社会经济障碍的影响并促进产妇保健服务的利用提供了机会。在本研究中，我们旨在调查：1）使用手机寻求分娩服务的流行率；2）使用手机的社区和社会经济差异；3）使用手机与母婴接受产后护理之间的关联。
本研究的数据来自 2013 年孟加拉国城市健康调查。研究对象为 9014 名年龄在 15 至 49 岁之间的已婚妇女。
总体而言，城市公司非贫民窟地区使用手机的比例最高（16.2%），城市公司贫民窟地区最低（7.4%）。在非贫民窟地区生活的人使用手机寻求分娩服务的可能性显著更高，而从未上过学和生活在较贫困家庭的人则较低。结果还表明，在贫民窟地区使用手机寻求分娩服务的妇女，接受自身产后护理的可能性要高出 4.3 倍[比值比（OR）=4.250；95%置信区间（CI）=1.856-9.734]，而来自城市公司以外地区的妇女，接受新生儿产后护理的可能性要高出 2.7 倍[OR=2.707；95% CI=1.712-4.279]。
社区、教育和经济因素与城市妇女使用手机的状况显著相关。促进获得更好的教育和可持续的收入来源，应被视为扩大移动卫生以促进产妇保健服务利用的一个组成部分。
