Project Lead(s): Nazeem Muhajarine
Issue
In Vietnam, the flow of migrants from rural areas increased from 1.3 million in 1989 to 3.4 million in 2009, and may top 6 million by 2019.
Many of these migrants are poor and live in unstable environments, putting them at higher risk for poor health outcomes. They have limited access to reliable sexual and other health information, and typically have little or no health coverage.
Solution
mHealth for Migrants (M2) is a project implemented in Vietnam that provides reliable, low-cost health advice for female migrant workers via free text messaging, a hotline service available 24/7, and a website that is free, secure and confidential.
The website contains information about many specific topics on reproductive health. It was operated by reproductive health specialists, and was open to clients for questions about reproductive and family health.
A pre-experimental design (with pre- and post-intervention measures) was used to measure the impact of the M2 intervention on female migrants in Vietnam, by tracking changes in knowledge and practices relating to sexual and reproductive health, and to explore the influence of M2 on indirect target populations, including local health service providers and local authorities.
The evaluation applied a mixed method approach, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, to collect in-depth information about project activities.
Outcome
Results showed that M2 for female migrant workers can provide necessary health resources in a confidential, timely and non-judgmental way.
In total, 170 specific SMS messages were developed by a health expert, covering seven sexual and reproductive health topics.
Women who received the messages indicated they highly appreciated the service, because it provided useful information in easy to understand language and at suitable times. Another benefit was that women could share the messages with their friends who were not participating in the project.
A total of 768 calls were made to the hotline, of which two-thirds were from clients who had been recruited and enrolled in the intervention and one-third who were brand new clients
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)/sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV/AIDS prevention, modern contraceptives, information about health service providers, and menstruation issues were the main topics of hotline calls.
Four hundred and forty-two participants (337 registered website members and 105 guests) visited the website during the project period.
The evaluation revealed a significant improvement in female migrants’ knowledge and practices relating to sexual and reproductive health through use of the services.
Results from in-depth interviews showed that the project was highly appreciated by factory owners, health service providers and local authorities, who also believe that the project needs to be extended to other health topics and other migrant populations.
This School of Public Health proposal has been received positively by the City of Hanoi, with an accompanying pledge of funding for $60,000 US from City government.