How text messaging can help control malaria

February 21, 2012 in Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

In this week's PLoS Medicine, Dejan Zurovac and colleagues from the Kenya Medical Research Institute/Wellcome Trust Research Program, Nairobi, Kenya discuss six areas where text messaging could improve the delivery of health services and health outcomes in malaria in Africa, including three areas transmitting information from the periphery of the health system to malaria control managers and three areas transmitting information to support management of malaria patients.

The authors state: "The widespread use of (SMS), the least expensive mobile phone function, offers a solution that could rapidly overcome weaknesses in communication potentially leading to improved delivery of health services and better health outcomes… We consider text messaging interventions that have the potential for immediate scale-up, benefiting from the widespread availability of basic mobile phones that do not require installation and maintenance of additional applications."

More information: Zurovac D, Talisuna AO, Snow RW (2012) Mobile Phone Text Messaging: Tool for Malaria Control in Africa. PLoS Med 9(2): e1001176. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001176

Provided by Public Library of Science search and more info website

not rated yet  

Rank not rated yet
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Researchers find genetic risk factor for pulmonary fibrosis

A paper recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine and co-written by physicians and scientists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine finds that an important genetic risk factor for pulmonary fibros ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Biomarkers discovered for inflammatory bowel disease

Using the Department of Defense Serum Repository (DoDSR), University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have identified a number of biomarkers for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which could help with earlier diagnosis and ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

CDC says high number of public pools contain microbes

(HealthDay)—Three-quarters of public schools in the metro Atlanta area contain microbes, including bacteria indicating the presence of fecal matter, according to research published in the May 17 issue of ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study examines outbreak of spinal infections in Michigan

(HealthDay)—Factors such as increased case finding may explain why Michigan had half of the total spinal infections associated with contaminated methylprednisolone acetate in the recent fungal meningitis ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

World not ready for mass flu outbreak, WHO says

The world is unprepared for a massive virus outbreak, the deputy chief of the World Health Organization warned Tuesday, amid fears that H7N9 bird flu striking China could morph into a form that spreads easily among people.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 6 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


If you can remember it, you can remember it wrong

(Medical Xpress)—Native peoples in regions where cameras are uncommon sometimes react with caution when their picture is taken. The fear that something must have been stolen from them to create the photo ...

B vitamins could delay dementia

(Medical Xpress)—Despite spending billions of dollars on research and development, drug companies have been unable to come up with effective treatments for dementia and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Now, A. ...

New sleeping pill poised to hit US markets

An experimental sleeping pill from US drug company Merck is effective at helping people fall and stay asleep, according to reviewers at the US Food and Drug Administration, which could soon approve the new drug.

Reducing caloric intake delays nerve cell loss

Activating an enzyme known to play a role in the anti-aging benefits of calorie restriction delays the loss of brain cells and preserves cognitive function in mice, according to a study published in the May ...

Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells

Australian scientists have charted the path of insulin action in cells in precise detail like never before. This provides a comprehensive blueprint for understanding what goes wrong in diabetes.

Antidepressant reduces stress-induced heart condition

A drug commonly used to treat depression and anxiety may improve a stress-related heart condition in people with stable coronary heart disease, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.