How to Have Happier Users and Better Health Data with Faster Apps

December 01, 2017Software developers have the power to improve usability in the  tools health workers use to report health data.I ’ve done my share of training district health officers and others in low-resource settings. I know that the vast majority of health workers who report data in district offices or health facilities in the low- and middle-income countries whereIntraHealth Internationalworks are on congested 2G mobile networks in small towns.Which means they ’re waiting—waiting for web applications to load over poor Internet connections.Complete and accurate data are essential for public health interventions, monitoring, and planning. Increasingly, web-based platforms are used to manage data on patients and the health workforce, and to store and create key health indicators.Lighter, faster apps drive higher user engagement and retention.But how do users access web-based health apps?We may think that it ’s through smartphones. That’s partially true. What our team has found is that the most common way people access health apps is on laptops and desktop computers, and those are connected to mobile phone networks via tethering to a smartphone or other mobile internet device. So while an ordinary w eb browser is often used instead of a smartphone to interact with apps, using the apps still relies on the mobile phone network.Technology leaders like Google and Facebook have learned that lighter, faster apps drive higher user engagement and retention. As web develo...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: news