[Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/mhealth-innovate-62-strategies-protect-... ]
Dear Simon,
In your message 5 May you noted that the RCN statement is not really feasible in many settings, and you say "A challenge for us is how to develop guidance on mobile phone use that is useful for [LMIC] settings as well as others where some alternative communication channels may be available."
Yes, I agree - I think our discussions indicate that this is our central challenge: to ensure that every health worker has access to evidence-informed, context-specific guidance to inform their use of personal mobile phones for work purposes. Such guidance would address the issues we have discussed, especially privacy and confidentiality issues, as well as remuneration of health workers' out-of-pocket costs.
Our pathway to developing such guidance includes:
1. Systematic review and primary research in a LMIC setting (as has been carried out by the mHealth-Innovate project, with a focus on Uganda)
2. Multidisciplinary exploration of the relevant issues (as we are now doing in this HIFA discussion)
3. Policy dialogues that are informed by 1 and 2 (a policy dialogue has been held at WHO EMRO - we await the findings; a policy dialogue is scheduled for WHO HQ on 6 June 2025 - it would be great to hear more about how WHO perceives the scope and objectives of this dialogue and how it will be structured structured)
Meanwhile, it would be helpful to gather as many existing guidelines as we can. The only one we have identified so far is the RCN guidance, which is clearly only applicable in the UK.
Also, we can learn from other complex health systems challenges about the *process* for developing international and local guidance. One option is to develop an international guideline, with recommendations for how the guideline might be adapted and applied in different settings (such as HIC and LMICs). WHO is best placed to develop many formal international guidelines. Is WHO best placed to lead on a new guideline for informal use of mobile phones? Which other organisations could (help to) undertake this work?
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org