Dear HIFA colleagues,
I am re-sending the message below to relaunch our preparatory phase from now until 21 April. You can review the members of our working group that is supporting this major research consortium to explore health workers' informal use of personal mobile phones. This is our first example of a Research-based HIFA Project. HIFA runs three types of Project (Topic-based; Research-based; WHO-based), all leveraging the experience and expertise of the HIFA membership: www.hifa.org/projects
You can review the current members of the working group here (see Members tab): https://www.hifa.org/projects/mhealth-innovate-what-can-we-learn-health-... We still have one or two places for HIFA volunteers who would like to be part of this project.
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
==
HIFA Projects (27) Update on the HIFA mHealth-Innovate Project and invitation to join the working group
16 February, 2025
Dear HIFA colleagues,
In 2021 HIFA was invited to be a partner in an international research consortium to explore health workers' informal use of personal mobile phones.
The consortium includes Makerere University, Uganda; the Norwegian Institute of Public Health; the University of Oslo, Norway; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA; the World Health Organization; and HIFA.
(This has been the first example of a HIFA Research-based Project. Note that there are three types of HIFA Projects: Topic-based [since 2010]; Research-based [since 2021]; and WHO-based [starting 2025]. Research-based Projects engage HIFA as a platform for interdisciplinary exploration of the issues. HIFA is typically engaged right from the start during the proposal development stage, where HIFA is allocated a budget line.)
In 2022 HIFA held our first thematic discussion and this led to a publication in the journal Oxford Open Digital Health: Using an online community of practice to explore the informal use of mobile phones by health workers
https://www.hifa.org/sites/default/files/publications_pdf/Oxford-Open-Di...
This contributed to our qualitative evidence synthesis published in 2024 in the Cochrane Library: Healthcare workers’ informal uses of mobile phones and other mobile devices to support their work: a qualitative evidence synthesis
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD015705.pub2/...
Over the past 2 years the Project has been engaged in primary research, focusing on the experience and perspectives of health workers and policymakers in Uganda, leading to a national dialogue and a webinar with WHO in 2024. Policy dialogues are now being planned with the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (8 April) and WHO Headquarters (6 June).
HIFA's contribution to the work is being coordinated by the HIFA mHealth-Innovate working group, which includes research consortium representatives and HIFA members with particular experience or interest in this topic.
The HIFA mHealth-Innovate working group reconvened on 10 February and we agreed to plan a second thematic discussion (22 April to 25 May) with the following broad objectives:
1. Discuss the research findings
2. Explore implications for policy, practice and governance
3. Explore strategies to maximise advantages and minimize disadvantages of informal use
4. Contribute to WHO HQ dialogue (6/6)
We also agreed to offer the opportunity for a limited number of interested HIFA members to join the group to help take this forward.
If you are interested, please send an email (with CV if available) to neil@hifa.org
All: Please feel free to send this message to anyone who may like to join our upcoming discussions, with the link to join HIFA: www.hifa.org/joinhifa
Best wishes, Neil
==