Sexual and reproductive health and rights and mHealth in policy and practice in South Africa.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunity and innovation to improve public health and health systems.This paper explores the intersections between mHealth and sexual and reproductive health and rights in both policy and practice. It is a qualitative study, informed by policy review and key informant interviews. Three case studies provide evidence of what is happening on the ground in relation to ICTs and reproductive health and rights. We argue that in terms of policy, there is little overlap between health rights and communication technology. In the area of practice, however, significant interventions address aspects of reproductive health. At present, the extent to which mHealth addresses the full range of reproductive justice and sexual and reproductive health and rights is limited, particularly in terms of government initiatives. The paper argues that mHealth projects tend to avoid contentious aspects of sexual health, while addressing favourable topics such as pregnancy and motherhood. The ways in which information is framed in mHealth mirrors current gaps within sexual and reproductive health and rights, where a limited and conservative lens predominates, and which may result in narrow programming and implementation of services.
['Waldman|Linda|L|', 'Stevens|Marion|M|']
D005193:Family Planning Services D005260:Female D006291:Health Policy D006293:Health Promotion D006801:Humans D007407:Interviews as Topic D008427:Maternal Health Services D011247:Pregnancy D011369:Professional-Patient Relations D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic D060728:Reproductive Health D046269:Reproductive Rights D013019:South Africa D017216:Telemedicine D014933:Women's Rights
South Africa integration of services maternal health priority setting reproductive and sexual health reproductive health policy and programmes