In April 2014, 50 implementers, experts and donors from the mHealth and maternal health communities gathered at Harvard for a meeting titled "mHealth for maternal health: bridging the gaps." Throughout the two day meeting, the participants grappled with constraints to delivering high-quality, accessible and affordable maternal health care, discussed the opportunities for information and communication technologies to help alleviate those constraints, and outlined the beginnings of a shared "mHealth for maternal health" research agenda.
As mobile phones and other devices become increasingly available and adaptable, demand for their systematic integration into reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health (RMNCH) programs is growing. The Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) collaborated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the World Health Organization to convene this technical meeting on mHealth for maternal health: how it can be applied, who can use it, and to what effect, it is needed. By bringing together researchers, program implementers, and evaluators from both the maternal health and mHealth communities, this meeting facilitated discussions around the current state of mHealth for maternal health, prioritize future evidence needs, and determine opportunities for sustained discussion and collaboration between the mHealth and maternal health communities.
For more information, please click on the meeting report or meeting materials. The mHealth for maternal health blog series is also a rich source of information
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