1. Scaling Mobile
Community-Based
Information Systems
March 6, 2018
A panel discussion hosted by MEASURE Evaluation
with panelists from Dimagi, Living Goods,
Medic Mobile, and mothers2mothers

2. Background and
Introductions

3. Many documented small-scale digital
health interventions exist, as pointed out
in PATH’s report,The
Journey to Scale. But despite a high
degree of market penetration,
informatics companies say that digital
devices are not as widely used for health
services as might beexpected.
Possible reasons forthe lack of
sustainable mHealth interventions are a
general lack of resources, training, and
support forlong-term sustainability.
Background
Can mHealth projects be
scaled to effectively manage
community health information
and improve datause?
Toanswer this question, MEASURE
Evaluation, funded bythe
United States Agency for
International Development (USAID),
looked at two mHealth
implementations that had moved
beyond the pilot phase.

4. Introduction
Here’s how we implemented the case studies
We interviewed informants at the technology companies:
• Medic Mobile, San Francisco, CA, USA, and Nairobi, Kenya
• Dimagi, Cape Town, South Africa
and key informants at the implementing partner country
offices:
• Living Goods, Kampala, Uganda
• m2m, Cape Town, South Africa
We observed CHWs and their supervisors during trainings and
while they used the mobile devices and then interviewed a
purposeful sample.

5. Key Themes
DIGITAL
PAPER
1. Learn from the past
2. Integrate mHealth
3. Use partnerships
4. Design for users
5. Keep it simple
6. Think about scale
7. Have offline options
8. Define resources
9. Train
10.Use data
11.Professionalize
12.Design for more than
M&E
13.Plan the project
14.Supervise

6. ISAAC HOLEMAN SEEMA KARA CAROLINE MBINDYO
ANN MARJORIE
MBULE
SENIOR
TECHNICAL
ADVISOR RMNCH
CO-FOUNDER DIRECTOR
TECHNOLOGY &
INNOVATION
SENIOR FIELD
MANAGER
- 6 -
Panelist Introductions

7. Panelist Introductions
Isaac Holeman's research and design practice concern human-
centered design for global health equity. As co-founder and research
lead at Medic Mobile, he helps design, build and study one of the
world's more widely used open source software toolkits for community
health. He recently completed a PhD in innovation studies as a Gates
Scholar at the University of Cambridge. He's based in Seattle and you
can find him on Twitter @isaacholeman.
ISAAC HOLEMAN
CO-FOUNDER, MEDIC MOBILE

8. Panelist Introductions
Seema is a senior field manager at Dimagi, where she designs and
implements CommCare based mobile technology solutions with the
team based in Cape Town, South Africa. Her project work has included
defaulter tracking in Lesotho, clinical and social referral systems in
Malawi and maternal and child health service delivery in Ethiopia. Most
recently she has been involved in looking at the challenge of how
machine learning methods can potentially be applied to frontline
health worker systems. Prior to working at Dimagi, Seema worked at
the Earth Institute at Columbia in New York. She has a background in
Biomedical Engineering and Epidemiology.
SEEMA KARA
SENIOR FIELD MANAGER, DIMAGI

9. Panelist Introductions
Caroline has worked in the technology sector for over 15 years. At Living Goods,
Caroline is responsible for strategy development, implementation, scaling and
replication of sustainable technologies and innovations that respond to some of the
most pressing challenges facing children and women in the developing world.
Most recently she worked with one of the largest public health organisations in Africa,
where she was responsible for the development and implementation of the
organization’s eHealth programmes to include eLearning and mHealth across sub-
Saharan Africa. She has extensive experience in driving large-scale mHealth
deployments in multiple geographies, initiating learning opportunities to better inform
ICT4D programs and policies, testing technologies and integration, and developing new
business opportunities through public-private partnerships in emerging markets.
Caroline has served as a trusted advisor to various African governments in designing
and implementing digital solutions for health and education.
CAROLINE MBINDYO
DIRECTOR TECHNOLOGY &
INNOVATION, LIVING GOODS

10. Panelist Introductions
Over 14 years of proven experience in program design, management,
implementation, quality improvement and monitoring & evaluation of
integrated programmes in the areas of prevention of mother to child
transmission of HIV, comprehensive HIV prevention care and treatment,
reproductive, maternal newborn and child health, nutrition and water
sanitation & hygiene (WASH) including linkages to village lending & saving
groups and OVC platforms. Marjorie leads mothers2mothers’ reproductive
maternal newborn and child health and the HIV prevention care and treatment
portfolio and supports implementation of related programmes in m2m
supported countries. This includes design and roll out of digital health
solutions in close collaboration with the research and strategic information
unit.
ANN MARJORIE N. MBULE
SENIOR TECHNICAL ADVISOR
RMNCH, MOTHERS2MOTHERS

11. Application Overview
Our integrated platform avoids the inefficiency of single-issue health strategies.
Standard
Diagnosis,
Treatment &
Education
Supply Chain
and Logistics
SmartHealth
™ App
Performance
Based
Incentives
Maintaining
Performance
SUPERVISION
SUPERVISION
LIVING GOODS SMARTHEALTH APP POWERED BY MEDIC MOBILE

12. Application Overview
m2m’s Digital Health solutions are
enhancing timely delivery of quality
services to clients and improving
programme management through
evidence based decision making!
App 1:
Electronic Client Appointment
Diary and Active Client Follow-up
(ACFU) Tracking System
• Tracking of priority PMTCT
appointments for mother-baby pairs
• Management of defaulter tracing
systems
App 2:
Client management tool
• Assisting comprehensive family-
based RMNCH service delivery at
household level
• Aiding closure of the referral loop for
all referrals made
• ACFU
• Weekly Automated Workflow &
Output Reports for improved
program management and QI

13. Panel Discussion

14. Learn from the past
Best Practices

15. Integrate mHealth
Best Practices

16. Use partnerships
Best Practices

17. Design for users
Best Practices

18. Think about scale
Best Practices

19. Use data
Best Practices

20. Questions and Answers
Let’s hear from you!

21. Publications
https://www.measureevaluation.org

22. Contact us:
Dawne Walker, Palladium
dawne.walker@thepalladiumgroup.com
Liz Nerad, Palladium
liz.nerad@thepalladiumgroup.com
Isaac Holeman, Medic Mobile
isaac@medicmobile.org
Seema Kara, Dimagi
bizdev@dimagi.com
Caroline Mbindyo, Living Goods
cmbindyo@livinggoods.org
Marjorie Mbule, mothers2mothers
Marjorie.Mbule@m2m.org

23. This presentation was produced with the support of the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) under the terms of MEASURE Evaluation
cooperative agreement AID-OAA-L-14-00004. MEASURE Evaluation is
implemented by the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill in partnership with ICF International; John Snow, Inc.; Management
Sciences for Health; Palladium; and Tulane University. Views expressed are not
necessarily those of USAID or the United States government.
www.measureevaluation.org