Understanding mobile application development and implementation to monitor Posyandu data in Indonesia: a 3-years hybrid action research to build “a bridge” from the community to national use

Abstract

Background. There is a small number of facts available to understand better how mobile health application technology on mother and child health (MCH) is developed. This study is aimed: (a) to explore the process of developing the mobile app in MCH community-based services in the Indonesian setting/Posyandu, (b) to perform feasibility assessment among the community health workers (CHWs), and (c) to see the potential use of the mobile app in the country. Method. Using a hybrid method in which the action research principles and the mixed-method, which comprise qualitative and quantitative methods, were synergistically combined for the end-users. The study was conducted in Pasawahan sub-district, Purwakarta, Indonesia, from 2017 to 2019. Content analysis, coding, and categorizing were carried out using NVivo 12 Pro for the transcribed data. Wilcoxon Test (2018 and 2019) was conducted using STATA 15 Special Edition. Results. (1) The use of a CHW notebook for data entry in the Posyandu information system book delayed the data reporting process, resulting in the need to develop a mobile app; (2) There are significant differences of CHW’s knowledge (p=0.000) and skills (p=0.0097) on training (2018) and Posyandu phases (2019); (3) As many as 964 posyandu are registered to Posyandu mobile app from almost all provinces in Indonesia. Conclusions. The 3-years hybrid approach suggests the crucial phases to develop a mobile app in a more user-friendly manner to substitute the use of CHW’s old-fashion book use and that its implementation is promising for national use.

Association of Cadre's Knowledge with Age, Duration of Work, Education, and Employment on the Use of iPosyandu Application in Pasawahan, Purwakarta

“…During one year of the research umbrella, cadre's knowledge should corroborate with the development of applications that change dynamically according to the needs of cadres. 3 Lack of knowledge in our study can be an indicator of the dynamic improvement. The support of the puskesmas and village office is essential for the improvement.…”

“…We collect the gap or "pain point" and prevent bad impact by accommodating iterative action and reflection in the improvement. 3,20 The age characteristics in this study vary from 26-50 years, which are categorized into early adulthood, late adulthood, and early elderly. As we get older, so the catching and mindset of a person also develop.…”

“…This can be caused by previous studies where the use of the iPosyandu application was still on the same dashboard between cadres and parents. 3 Statement 18 "Recording toddlers data on the iPosyandu application is carried out until children are older than 5 years".…”

“…Innovation is needed to bridge the gap. 3 Posyandu that uses manual data recording, and recapitulation systems result in data missing. The manually recording can make the public health center (Puskesmas), data back-up not systematic, resulting in inefficient recording time.…”

“…Cadre's knowledge in the effort of using the application is very important to overcome the existing problems. 3,7,8 In 2018, the iPosyandu application was taught to cadres in Pasawahan sub-district with training interventions and the provision of user manuals for the application. 8 In 2019, the description of knowledge was needed during the real implementation of posyandu.…”