Lessons from early stage pilot studies to maximize the impact of digital health interventions for sexual and reproductive health

摘要

The promise of digital health interventions (DHI) for improving sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is now widely acknowledged and evidenced by the rapid proliferation of digital tools for a spectrum of SRH related information, behaviors, products, and services. The basis for such optimism is clear: DHI can expand access to vulnerable or hard-to-reach groups defined by geography, stigmatized behaviors or identities, and to people for whom confidentiality is paramount. Digital approaches can attempt to, for example, link women to contraception, expand access to HIV self-testing and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among vulnerable groups like men who have sex with men (MSM), and can amplify messages about low-cost maternal care services. For these reasons, contemporaneous with increases in the speed of application development, there were more publications referencing digital interventions and/or mHealth in the peer-reviewed scientific literature in 2018–2019 than cumulatively published prior to 2018 (1).