mHealth information for migrants: an e-health intervention for internal migrants in Vietnam

Abstract

BackgroundSocio-economic development in Vietnam has resulted in increased internal migration particularly among young women seeking employment opportunities in cities. Vietnamese female migrants who enter new environments often encounter the loss or neglect of their right to access sexual and reproductive health services. To address this, a mobile health (mHealth) intervention model was implemented over 12 months (2013–2014) in a factory in the Long Bien industrial zone of Hanoi, Vietnam.MethodsThe intervention provided sexual and reproductive health services for female migrants through text messaging, information booklets accompanied maps, and free counseling via a hotline. To evaluate the impact of the intervention, pre- and post-intervention data were collected to measure changes in women’s knowledge and practices related to sexual and reproductive health. Qualitative data in the form of personal interviews were also collected. The sample size for the baseline survey was 411 women, and for the post-intervention survey it was 482 women (the intervention involved an open cohort). The majority of women were unmarried and under the age of 25.ResultsResults indicate that there was high uptake of the intervention services and that most women found the services important and useful. In addition, there was evidence that the intervention (1) increased women’s knowledge of sexual and reproductive health (e.g., proper use of condoms, identification of high-risk behaviors such as having unprotected sex), and (2) fostered improved practices related to sexual and reproductive health (e.g., increased gynecological check-ups and use of condoms).ConclusionsThe study demonstrated the feasibility of implementing a multi-faceted intervention for migrant women working in an industrial zone in Hanoi, Vietnam as well as its successful uptake and some early positive effects. This can be used to inform future design and implementation of mHealth/eHealth intervention models for migrant and other vulnerable/hard to reach population.

Mobile Health Initiatives in Vietnam: Scoping Study

“…After duplication removal and screening, 27 records met inclusion criteria, which were sorted into 10 initiatives (Initiative #1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, and 20). Of these 27 records, there were 12 research papers [ 13 , 14 , 22 - 31 ], 8 conference presentations [ 32 - 39 ], 2 Vietnamese governmental documents [ 40 , 41 ], 2 graduate dissertations [ 42 , 43 ], 2 case studies [ 44 , 45 ], and 1 project technical report [ 46 ].…”

The role of tuberculosis control institutes in delivering tuberculosis information to domestic migrants in China: A multi-level analysis of a nationwide cross-sectional survey

“…It is suggested that more efforts are focused on delivering TB information among the migrant populations by targeting their mobile characteristics. Cellular communication in particular appears to be the most effective way to target them (Borsari et al, 2018;Rath et al, 2018;Vu et al, 2016). While the percentages calculated in the present research and in the research conducted by others (37.6% and 46.3%) may appear alarming for TB control, caution is advised, as further research is needed to assess the scale and speed of TB awareness over time.…”

Barriers to health care services in migrants and potential strategies to improve accessibility: A qualitative analysis

“…For example, the Government of Mongolia is working with WHO to introduce mobile health at the primary health care and community levels to improve access to needed services and ensure that no one is left behind (13). In Viet Nam, a multifaceted e-health intervention providing sexual and reproductive health services to female migrants increased women's knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and improved practices related to gynaecological check-ups and use of condoms (134).…”