Birth and death notification via mobile devices: a systematic review of mixed methods.
Vasudevan L, Glenton C, Henschke N, Maayan N, Eyers J, Fønhus MS, Tamrat T, Mehl GL, Lewin S. Birth and death notification via mobile devices: a systematic review of mixed methods. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021, No. 7. Art. No.: CD012909. doi: 10.1002 /14651858.CD012909.pub2. Accessed July 29, 2021.
Description.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of birth and death notifications via mobile devices compared to standard methods.
The primary outcome was to use a controlled before-and-after study design to assess the impact of using mobile devices for birth notification on outcomes related to coverage and timeliness of hepatitis B vaccination in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. However, the certainty of this evidence is rated as very low, so the effect of this approach on outcomes is unknown.
The included studies did not assess resource use or unintended consequences, and did not identify any studies that used mobile devices for death notification.
For secondary purposes, 21 studies were included and reviewed, and were conducted in low- or moderate-income settings. The focus was on identifying births and deaths in rural, remote, or marginalized populations that are generally underrepresented in the civil registration process or traditionally considered to have inadequate access to health services.
This review identified several factors that may influence the implementation of birth and death notification via mobile devices.
Geographic barriers that may prevent people from accessing birth and death notification and post-notification services
Access to health care providers and other notifiers with adequate training, supervision, support, and incentives
・Monitoring systems to ensure the quality and timeliness of birth and death data.
・Legal framework to enable notification of births and deaths via mobile devices and various types of notification capabilities
・Community awareness of the need to register births and deaths
・Socio-cultural norms regarding births and deaths
・Government commitment
・Costs to the system, health care providers, and families
・Access to electricity and network connectivity, and compatibility with existing systems
・Systems that protect the confidentiality of data.
The level of confidence in these findings was low to moderate, due to methodological limitations and concerns about data validity.
The authors concluded that
They can only say that more well-designed research is needed on the impact of birth and death notifications via mobile devices, and the factors that may influence their implementation.
