Mobile Prediction 2009: Healthcare

“South Africa is a hotbed of mobile social innovation. From a depression-and-anxiety group helping teens via SMS, to assisting with compliance for tuberculosis medication, and the ‘cellphones for HIV‘ programme we have described earlier, diverse health initiatives are findings ways of using mobile phones.” – MobileActive.org
(South) Africa is in that peculiar situation where our mobile uptake outranks every other communications medium available today. Figures vary between 75% penetration rates to about 90%.
It is therefore not surprising and rather pleasing to see various healthcare organizations realizing the value communication via the mobile phone could add to their service offering. It is been long overdue and I predict a massive flux of mobile oriented campaigns for 2009, especially in the healthcare industry.
From a device called SIMpill (see the play on the word simple), sending text messages to users as reminder to take critical medication, monitoring and tracking in real time to Cell-Life’s “Cellphones for HIV” project, collaborating with various institutes to provide a lower cost service to people suffering from this dreaded disease, we should see the awareness around our health and the betterment of our lives drastically improve through the integration of mobile and online.
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) has launched a text message initiative especially developed for teens as many of them are reluctant to speak about the problems they experience, and this way they are able to anonymously communicate a cry for help to SADAG.
From their press release: “This service is a new and exciting way for teenagers around South Africa to reach out for help. Teenagers often prefer to communicate via sms, as they may feel uncomfortable expressing themselves verbally. This service is also instant, and a teen in crisis will never get a busy signal when he or she is in crisis. This service is also cheaper than a telephone call, as messages are charged at standard sms rates. In this way, teenagers around the country can get help, information, and practical advice on how to deal with depression and suicidal feelings. The teens can also request school talks and find mental health resources in their area.”
Unfortunately it seems that there was no outreach programme for this particular service, so no matter how effective the idea, if the execution lacks, the campaign falls flat on its face. I don’t believe teens will consciously search the net for help. They are afraid, reluctant and shy by nature and their problems worsen this feeling.
It is therefore critical to devise campaigns that deliver this initiative to them. There are social elements that cater for every teenager’s individual needs, Mxitand Facebook only but two of them. These channels should be embraced. Schools, public services and community outreach programmes should actively market this initiative as well.
While I believe this specific campaign has been around for a while and probably idling in the background, you can look forward to better execution and marketing of healthcare mobile services in 2009. Hopefully, including SADAG’s.
Important Update: Arrogance sometimes has its upside. I haven’t done my research on SADAG well enough, and subsequently received a phone call from the founder of SADAG, Zane Wilson, who has delightfully informed me on the astounding efforts they do to spread the message of their teenage text campaign. They visit a lot of schools where they give talks, hand out flyers and have appeared on various radio stations and television shows as well.
They also advertise in a variety of magazines, and while not necessarily addressing people through the media of my choice, their efforts certainly outperforms my wildest imagination. I apologise.
I have discussed where my expertise might complement their efforts though and I’m very happy to assist them in spreading the word through the media I specialise in. I look forward to everyone that’s ever been touched by this disease to help where they can. Leave a comment if you desire more information.

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