Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/mhealth-innovate-16-why-are-health-work...
In my message yesterday I asked: "How many people now use smartphones as opposed to basic phones? Do we have any estimates for different countries and different settings?"
I found it difficult to get answers on this. The GSMA Report 2022 states 'In Sub-Saharan Africa, 40% of the adult population are now connected to mobile internet services', presumably referring to 2021 or before. It's not clear what proportion have a smartphone versus a feature phone. http://gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-econom...
Population coverage of smartphones is considerably higher in other global regions.
It would be helpful to know what proportion of health workers have smartphones at different levels in the health system. We would expect the vast majority of doctors, nurses and other health staff in health facilities to have their own smartphones, and almost everyone to have their own phone of some kind (smart or feature). Among community health workers, we may expect a higher proportion of feature phones? Looking at trends year by year, it seems that smartphones are steadily replacing feature phones. I have not been able to find estimates on how long it will take for smartphone ownership to be available to more than, say, 90% of the world population.
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