Handhelds for Health

This publication provides an overview of SATELLIFE's experiences using hand-held computers for both information dissemination and data collection and reporting. The document draws heavily on experience with SATELLIFE's largest project, the Uganda Health Information Network (UHIN). 

This document focuses not only on the technical aspects of setting up a handheld computer project, but discusses organisational issues and promotion of local ownership. The authors look at how to include local stakeholders in project planning, and the importance of having local advocates.

Each section of this document includes "Voices of our Partners" outtakes in which field practitioners speak of their experiences with the handheld technologies and systems. Thirteen such case study examples are included, highlighting practitioners like surgeon Dr. Bwayo of Uganda who has reduced his paperwork significantly by entering data directly into a handheld device and Liaquat Ali of EngenderHealth in Bangladesh who programmes existing supervisory checklists into a handheld format.

The publishers provide this summary of the lessons learned:

• Health workers are eager for access to information and quickly adopt the handheld as both a tool for data collection and for reference material
• Lack of power in the field can be addressed by the use of solar chargers
• Introducing technology into the workplace, like any other change needs to be managed and works best when their is a local champion to encourage participation.
• While handhelds are great tools for close ended survey questions, they are less suitable for open ended questions where text entry is required.
• Cost savings over paper-based processes can be significant.

Contents:

• Executive Summary
• Handheld Computers: Not an Accessory, but a Lifeline
• The Impact of Information Poverty on Global Health
• Breaking New Ground: Handheld Pilots in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda
• Handheld Basics: Lessons Learned from Hands-on Experience
• The Human Element: Managing People and Organizational Change in a Handheld Computer Project
• Uganda Health Information Network: A Case Study
• Reviewing Our Progress, Looking Ahead
• Appendix