A Design of a Mobile Health System to Address Teenage Pregnancy in South African Hige Schools

Abstract

Teenage pregnancy is a major concern within the context of South African high (secondary) school education. This stems from the fact that in most cases, pregnant learners do not receive adequate support. Hence, learners end up hiding their pregnancies or terminating their pregnancies. This poses a serious health-related concern because if pregnancies are not nurtured at an early stage, the results therefore could be complications that may endanger the life of the pregnant learner and the unborn baby. In addition, if pregnant learners are not given adequate care, they end up dropping from school and hence jeopardizing their future careers. In South Africa, there are many interventions that cater for maternal health. However, the uptake of such interventions among secondary school learners is very minimal due to the stigma attached to falling pregnant out of the wedlock and at a very young age. On the other hand, mobile phones penetration among the youth in South Africa is high. This presents an opportunity for designing mHealth interventions targeting pregnant learners. This paper presents a preliminary design of an mHealth intervention that could help teenagers get accurate information pertaining to pregnancy-related issues and get help when needed. In addition, the intervention involves major stakeholders that should be involved in addressing teenage pregnancy issues. It is believed that this proposed mHealth intervention will be more efficient compared to other interventions provided that buy-in from all the identified stakeholders is secured.