Syrian refugees and digital health in Lebanon: Opportunities for improving antenatal health

Reem Talhouk; Sandra Mesmar; Anja Thieme; Madeline Balaam; Patrick Olivier; Chaza Akik; Hala Ghattas

doi:10.1145/2858036.2858331

Syrian refugees and digital health in Lebanon: Opportunities for improving antenatal health

Reem Talhouk, Sandra Mesmar, Anja Thieme, Madeline Balaam, Patrick Olivier, Chaza Akik, Hala Ghattas

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

155 Citations (Scopus)

40 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

There are currently over 1.1 million Syrian refugees in need of healthcare services from an already overstretched Lebanese healthcare system. Access to antenatal care (ANC) services presents a particular challenge. We conducted focus groups with 59 refugees in rural Lebanon to identify contextual and cultural factors that can inform the design of digital technologies to support refugee ANC. Previously identified high utilization of smartphones by the refugee population offers a particular opportunity for using digital technology to support access to ANC as well as health advocacy. Our findings revealed a number of considerations that should be taken into account in the design of refugee ANC technologies, including: refugee health beliefs and experiences, literacy levels, refugee perceptions of negative attitudes of healthcare providers, and hierarchal and familial structures.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CHI 2016
Subtitle of host publication	34th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Editors	Jofish Kaye
Place of Publication	New York
Publisher	ACM
Pages	331-342
Number of pages	12
ISBN (Electronic)	9781450333627
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858331
Publication status	Published - 7 May 2016
Externally published	Yes
Event	34th Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2016 - San Jose, United States Duration: 7 May 2016 → 12 May 2016

Publication series

Name	Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference	34th Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2016
Country/Territory	United States
City	San Jose
Period	7/05/16 → 12/05/16

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

Keywords

Antenatal health
Digital health
Lebanon
Maternal health
Refugees
Syria

Access to Document

10.1145/2858036.2858331Licence: CC BY

Syrian Refugees and Digital Health in Lebanon: Opportunities for Improving Antenatal HealthFinal published version, 925 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Talhouk, R., Mesmar, S., Thieme, A., Balaam, M., Olivier, P., Akik, C., & Ghattas, H. (2016). Syrian refugees and digital health in Lebanon: Opportunities for improving antenatal health. In J. Kaye (Ed.), CHI 2016: 34th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 331-342). (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858331

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abstract = "There are currently over 1.1 million Syrian refugees in need of healthcare services from an already overstretched Lebanese healthcare system. Access to antenatal care (ANC) services presents a particular challenge. We conducted focus groups with 59 refugees in rural Lebanon to identify contextual and cultural factors that can inform the design of digital technologies to support refugee ANC. Previously identified high utilization of smartphones by the refugee population offers a particular opportunity for using digital technology to support access to ANC as well as health advocacy. Our findings revealed a number of considerations that should be taken into account in the design of refugee ANC technologies, including: refugee health beliefs and experiences, literacy levels, refugee perceptions of negative attitudes of healthcare providers, and hierarchal and familial structures.",

keywords = "Antenatal health, Digital health, Lebanon, Maternal health, Refugees, Syria",

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Talhouk, R, Mesmar, S, Thieme, A, Balaam, M, Olivier, P, Akik, C & Ghattas, H 2016, Syrian refugees and digital health in Lebanon: Opportunities for improving antenatal health. in J Kaye (ed.), CHI 2016: 34th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings, ACM, New York, pp. 331-342, 34th Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2016, San Jose, United States, 7/05/16. https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858331

Syrian refugees and digital health in Lebanon: Opportunities for improving antenatal health. / Talhouk, Reem; Mesmar, Sandra; Thieme, Anja et al.
CHI 2016: 34th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ed. / Jofish Kaye. New York: ACM, 2016. p. 331-342 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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AU - Olivier, Patrick

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AU - Ghattas, Hala

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AB - There are currently over 1.1 million Syrian refugees in need of healthcare services from an already overstretched Lebanese healthcare system. Access to antenatal care (ANC) services presents a particular challenge. We conducted focus groups with 59 refugees in rural Lebanon to identify contextual and cultural factors that can inform the design of digital technologies to support refugee ANC. Previously identified high utilization of smartphones by the refugee population offers a particular opportunity for using digital technology to support access to ANC as well as health advocacy. Our findings revealed a number of considerations that should be taken into account in the design of refugee ANC technologies, including: refugee health beliefs and experiences, literacy levels, refugee perceptions of negative attitudes of healthcare providers, and hierarchal and familial structures.

KW - Antenatal health

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Talhouk R, Mesmar S, Thieme A, Balaam M, Olivier P, Akik C et al. Syrian refugees and digital health in Lebanon: Opportunities for improving antenatal health. In Kaye J, editor, CHI 2016: 34th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York: ACM. 2016. p. 331-342. (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings). doi: 10.1145/2858036.2858331

Syrian refugees and digital health in Lebanon: Opportunities for improving antenatal health

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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