WhatsApp-propriate? A retrospective content analysis of WhatsApp use and potential breaches in confidentiality among a team of doctors at a district hospital, South Africa

Meyer, Gareth D.; Meyer, Nadishani T.; Toit, Jacques du; Mans, P.; Moffett, B D

doi:10.7196/samj.2021.v111i2.14453

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…No message contained any patient identifier and in only two cases, the patient’s face was obscured to avoid identification. Notification of consent having been obtained for the WhatsApp consultation was provided only once, similar to a finding reported by Meyer (3 of 109 cases) [ 42 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

An Audit and Survey of Informal Use of Instant Messaging for Dermatology in District Hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Morris

Scott

Mars

2022

IJERPH

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Background. In KwaZulu-Natal (KZ-N), South Africa, recent reports have indicated that spontaneous use of smartphones has occurred, providing access to specialist dermatological care to remote areas. This informal use has raised a number of practical, legal, regulatory, and ethical concerns. Aim. To assess the nature and content of WhatsApp messages sent to dermatologists, to determine the referring doctors’ reasons for, and satisfaction with, their interactions, as well as their knowledge of legal, regulatory, and ethical requirements. Methods. A retrospective study of WhatsApp messages between referring doctors and dermatologists, as well as a cross-sectional survey of doctors working at district hospitals in KZ-N who used IM for teledermatology. Results. Use of IM (primarily WhatsApp) for teledermatology was almost universal, but often not considered ‘telemedicine’. Few referring doctors were aware of South Africa’s ethical guidelines and their requirements, and few of those who did followed them, e.g., the stipulated and onerous consent process and existing privacy and security legislations. No secure methods for record keeping or data storage of WhatsApp content were used. A desire to formalize the service existed. Conclusions. Based upon these findings, it was proposed that a number of described steps be followed in order to formalize the use of IM for teledermatology.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

An Audit and Survey of Informal Use of Instant Messaging for Dermatology in District Hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Morris

Scott

Mars

2022

IJERPH

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“…In SSA, many health workers communicate via diverse social media applications such as WhatsApp(inc). (Meyer et al 2021) There is currently no framework in SSA the safe sharing of medical images through these channels. Moreover, most other imaging is still stored in analogue format, such as printed x-rays which are given to the patient and thus not readily accessible or catalogued for long-term monitoring.…”

Section: Data Accessibility Ownership and Privacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Point-of-care ultrasound for tuberculosis management in Sub-Saharan Africa—a balanced SWOT analysis

Suttels

Toit

Fiogbé³

et al. 2022

International Journal of Infectious Diseases

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“…Our scoping review indicates that WhatsApp has either been used to disseminate survey tools, usually through sharing a link to an online SurveyMonkey or Google Form, or, through the creation of a WhatsApp Group as an intervention to facilitate communication between healthcare workers. We found that while some attention has been paid to the use of WhatsApp in mHealth and telemedicine, and amongst healthcare workers [33][34][35], there is little published that assesses the use of WhatsApp as a data collection tool in health research and communication interventions. Importantly, even within the literature that does exist, limited attention has been paid to the ethical implications of using WhatsApp or the ways in which existing social and economic inequities may affect its use.…”

Section: Whatsapp As a Research Tool For Exploring Migration Mobility Health And Gender In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on the move: exploring WhatsApp as a tool for understanding the intersections between migration, mobility, health and gender in South Africa

et al. 2021

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Background Reflecting global norms, South Africa is associated with high levels of cross-border and internal population mobility, yet migration-aware health system responses are lacking. Existing literature highlights three methodological challenges limiting the development of evidence-informed responses to migration and health: (1) lack of engagement with the process of migration; (2) exclusion of internal migrants; and (3) lack of methodologies that are able to capture ‘real-time’ data about health needs and healthcare seeking experiences over both time and place. In this paper, we reflect on a four-month pilot project which explored the use of WhatsApp Messenger - a popular mobile phone application used widely in sub-Saharan Africa – and assessed its feasibility as a research tool with migrant and mobile populations in order to inform a larger study that would address these challenges. Method A four-month pilot was undertaken with eleven participants between October 2019 and January 2020. Using Survey Node, an online platform that allows for the automatic administration of surveys through WhatsApp, monthly surveys were administered. The GPS coordinates of participants were also obtained. Recruited through civil society partners in Gauteng, participants were over the age of 18, comfortable engaging in English, and owned WhatsApp compatible cell phones. Enrolment involved an administered survey and training participants in the study protocol. Participants received reimbursement for their travel costs and monthly cell phone data. Results Out of a possible eighty eight survey and location responses, sixty one were received. In general, participants responded consistently to the monthly surveys and shared their location when prompted. Survey Node proved an efficient and effective way to administer surveys through WhatsApp. Location sharing via WhatsApp proved cumbersome and led to the development of a secure platform through which participants could share their location. Ethical concerns about data sharing over WhatsApp were addressed. Conclusions The success of the pilot indicates that WhatsApp can be used as a tool for data collection with migrant and mobile populations, and has informed the finalisation of the main study. Key lessons learnt included the importance of research design and processes for participant enrolment, and ensuring that the ethical concerns associated with WhatsApp are addressed.

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WhatsApp-propriate? A retrospective content analysis of WhatsApp use and potential breaches in confidentiality among a team of doctors at a district hospital, South Africa

Abstract: Confidentiality cannot but be, factually and morally, an all or nothing proposition. (M H Kottow) [1] This open-access article is distributed under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0.

Cited by 4 publications

References 6 publications

An Audit and Survey of Informal Use of Instant Messaging for Dermatology in District Hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

An Audit and Survey of Informal Use of Instant Messaging for Dermatology in District Hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Point-of-care ultrasound for tuberculosis management in Sub-Saharan Africa—a balanced SWOT analysis

Research on the move: exploring WhatsApp as a tool for understanding the intersections between migration, mobility, health and gender in South Africa

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