A Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) with 7+ Years of total IT experience. Holds a BSc in Computer Technology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. Areas of Interest include: ICT4D, IT Security, Information Systems Audit, Risk and Compliance.
Project Summary
Project Title: Development and Evaluation of an mHealth based Multi-Intervention Service for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Promotion
Research Supervisor: Dr. Samuel Ruhiu
Abstract: Young people are exposed to cultural content (from advertising to entertainment), that is highly sexualized, through the freely accessible World Wide Web. This has played a part in stirring up sexual curiosity and experimentation, leading to early sexual debut. The traditional cultural education and support system involving extended family and community has been severely eroded leaving the young people vulnerable to making inappropriate sexual choices, with accompanying negative Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) outcomes. mHealth provides a good global approach to health by the use of Mobile Phones; this links the young individuals to information concerning health and services. This study seeks to explore the feasibility and acceptability of a multi-intervention approach based on Mhealth to promote SRH among young people. A Persuasive System Model was used for developing a multi-interventional mHealth ASRH service. A prototype was developed that provided the following services: Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) education, Progress Track, Link to ASRH Service, Peer Support and Motivation. An online cross-sectional study was conducted with adolescents and young smartphone users aged between 14 to 24 years to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. A link to the mHealth prototype was sent to the participants who were required to interact with it for a period of 21 days. A total of 78 responses were received from the survey. Of the 85 participants recruited, 78 completed the survey. A majority of the participants noted that the intervention has a good design and that the information provided would help them make positive SRH choices. The results show the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and its ability to influence adolescents' SRH choices.