Developing the BornFyne prenatal management system version 2.0: a mixed method community participatory approach to digital health for reproductive maternal health

Abstract

Despite the growing number of global initiatives aimed at reducing adverse maternal health outcomes, there remain critical gaps and disparities in access to maternal health services in Cameroon and across the sub-Saharan Africa. Digital health innovations represent unique opportunities for addressing maternal and newborn child health in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper documents the approach to developing the BornFyne-Prenatal Management System (PNMS) as an intervention to support maternal health issues in Cameroon. The mixed-method design employed the three delays model conducted in four health districts purposefully selected with a mix of urban and rural settings as defined in the context. The study employed focus group discussions, interviews to inform the development features. A total of 25 providers interviewed, 12 focus group discussions and 4 workshops and total of 3,654 household surveyed. Participants highlighted multi-faceted advantages of using digital health platform such as BornFyne-PNMS to enhance communication and care during pregnancy such as remote consultations, emergency response, increase patient engagement, improved continuity of care, convenience. Most respondents believed that the use of a digital platform like BornFyne-PNMS would greatly facilitate access to health facilities, especially during emergencies. The BornFyne-PNMS deployment includes community engagement, training, and practical skills-building of health workers in the use of digital technologies, the establishment of an emergency transport mechanism for response to emergency cases, assessment and upgrading of the computer hardware of enrolled health facilities, and support to health system managers to review and interpret the BornFyne data and interoperability with the national health management information system.