View video showing roundtable highlights.
The fifth STIAS-Wallenberg Roundtable held from 20 to 21 February 2017 focused on image-based mobile technologies to improve health care (see announcement). The event attracted over 60 participants and provided a unique opportunity for cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary discussions and networking. The Roundtable brought together representatives from the clinical, research, policy, business and social sectors from 16 countries to discuss the possibilities of image-based mobile health for improving health care particularly in remote and resource-poor settings. It was also attended by media from South Africa and Sweden. (Click on link to view/download the programme.)
The groupwork and plenary discussions focused on key questions, namely:
- How should the most important barriers to the implementation of image-based mHealth in the clinical setting be overcome? (Session 2)
- How can frontline health care workers be enabled to adopt image-based mHealth in their practice? (Session 3)
- Which are the key strategies to overcome organisational challenges to the implementation of image-based mHealth within the health sector? (Session 4)
- Which are the key strategies to overcome technical challenges in implementing image-based mHealth within the health sector? (Session 5)
- For each category of stakeholders represented, what are the most important priorities to build and sustain leadership in mHealth? (Session 6)
These questions generated statements which were prioritised by voting (in session 7; see voting results here). The results of this process have been compiled into a Roadmap for the implementation, expansion and up-scaling of image-based mHealth particularly in resource-constrained settings.
In addition to the Roadmap, the Roundtable contributed to a special issue of the journal Global Health Action which is devoted to mHealth in its entirety. Many of the high-profile participants were also interviewed; these interviews can be viewed here.
Below are links to some media reports/blogs on the Roundtable:
mHealth Aiding in the Diagnoses of Burn Injuries (eHealthNews)
A Visit in the Promised Land – mHealth in context (Mediafrica)
Image-based mobile technologies for diagnostics and treatment (africahealthnews.com)
A roadmap for image-based mobile technologies in Africa (eHealth Network for Action)
From the heart of rural health … (William Mapham)
On designing mHealth solutions … (De Wet Swanepoel)
News article on the Roundtable in the South African Journal of Science authored by Michelle Galloway
Special issue of Global Health Action on mHealth.
For the past five years the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation has supported an annual Roundtable (see concept note) where representatives from South Africa, Sweden and the broader international community can engage in dialogue and debate around a central theme, typically one related to current global challenges, but particularly focusing on their local manifestation. The previous Roundtables focused on energy, mental health, agricultural transformation and innovation policy.
Published 24 February 2017
Last updated: 6 September 2017