Mobile Phones Effective In Collecting Data From HIV-Positive Pregnant Women

Mobile phones were found both to be acceptable and feasible in the collection of maternal and child health data from women living with HIV in South Africa, according to an article in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. 

"Most of the world's women living with human immunodeficiency virus reside in sub-Saharan Africa," study authors wrote. "Although efforts to reduce mother-to-child transmission are underway, obtaining complete and accurate data from rural clinical sites to track progress presents a major challenge."

South Africa has implemented the Prevention of Maternal-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) package as recommended by the World Health Organization. The PMTCT program requires newly pregnant women to complete a series of sequential steps, also known as the PMTCT cascade, that are aimed at first diagnosing and then treating HIV infection.