Experiencing interactive voice response (IVR) as a participatory medium: The case of CGNet Swara in India

Mudliar, Preeti; Donner, Jonathan

doi:10.1177/2050157915571591

Cited by 12 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Mudliar et al highlighted how grievance redressal was an emergent and unexpected category of activity which seemed, even at an early stage, to be the most impactful category of use. Mudliar and Donner also reflected on CGNet Swara as a participatory medium [25].…”

Section: Prior Research On Cgnet Swaramentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting CGNet Swara and its impact in rural India

Marathe

O’Neill

Pain

et al. 2015

Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development

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CGNet Swara is a voice-based platform for citizen journalism, launched in rural India in 2010. Since then, CGNet Swara has logged over 575,000 phone calls, over 6,900 published stories, and 287 reports of specific problems that were solved via the system. In this paper, we characterize the ongoing impact of CGNet Swara using a mixed-methods approach that includes 70 interviews with contributors, listeners, moderators, journalists, officials, and other actors. Our analysis also draws on the content of published posts, two focus groups, and a 9-day field immersion. Our results highlight personal narratives of the transformative benefits CGNet Swara has brought to rural communities. While the resolution of grievances is the most visible impact, we also uncover a diverse portfolio of other impacts connected to contributing and listening to the platform, as well as opportunities to further enhance impact. Our work contributes to the dialogue surrounding the impact of ICTD projects, especially those that span multiple years.

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Section: Prior Research On Cgnet Swaramentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting CGNet Swara and its impact in rural India

Marathe

O’Neill

Pain

et al. 2015

Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development

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“…Several recommendations have been made, including using Interactive voice response calling (IVRC) as a potential application to improve communication and increase knowledge on health-related issues among the low-literacy community [14]. Interactive voice response calling (IVRC) uses a toll-free number with predefined given information through spoken language and, as such, could be a way to communicate with Maasai in their language, who often have low literacy and do not quite understand the Swahili language [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The phone number tells us good things we didn’t know before.” Use of interactive voice response calling for improving knowledge and uptake of family planning methods among Maasai in Tanzania

Ngowi,

Msoka,

Mtesha

et al. 2023

PLOS Digit Health

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Introduction Maasai living in the Arusha region, Tanzania, face challenges in feeding their children because of decreasing grazing grounds for their cattle. Therefore, they requested birth control methods. Previous studies have shown that lack of knowledge about, and poor access to, family planning (FP) may worsen the situation. We developed an interactive voice response calling (IVRC) platform for Maasai and health care workers (HCW) to create a venue for communication about FP to increase knowledge and access to FP. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of the platform on knowledge, access and use of family planning methods. We applied a participatory action research approach using mixed methods for data collection to develop and pilot-test an mHealth-platform with IVRC using Maa language. We enrolled Maasai-couples and HCW in Monduli District (Esilalei ward), Arusha Region, and followed them for 20 months. A baseline assessment was done to explore knowledge about FP. Furthermore, we abstracted information on FP clinic visits. Based on that, we developed a system called Embiotishu. A toll-free number was provided to interact with the system by calling with their phone. The system offers pre-recorded voice messages with information about FP and reproductive health to educate Maasai. The system recorded the number of calls and the type of information accessed. We measured the outcome by (1) a survey investigating the knowledge of contraceptive methods before and after Embiotishu and (2) counting the number of clinic visits (2018–2020) from medical records and feedback from qualitative data for FP used among Maasai. The acceptability and feasibility were explored through focus group discussions (FGDs) with Maasai and in-depth interviews (IDIs) with HCW. We recruited 76 Maasai couples whom we interviewed during the baseline assessment. The overall knowledge of contraceptives increased significantly (p<0.005) in both men and women. The number of clinic visits rose from 137 in 2018 to 344 in 2019 and 228 in the first six months of 2020. Implants were the most prescribed family planning method, followed by injections and pills, as found in medical records. The number of incoming calls, missed calls, and questions were 24,033 over 20 months. Out of these calls, 14,547 topics were selected. The most selected topics were modern contraceptives (mainly implants, condoms, tubal ligation, and vasectomy). Natural methods of contraception (vaginal fluid observations, calendar, and temperature). Our study has shown that the IVRC system led to an improvement in knowledge about and access to contraceptives. Furthermore, it has potential to increase access to health information as well as improve dialogue between Health workers and Maasai.

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