TY - JOUR
T1 - An Assessment of E-health Resources and Readiness in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
T2 - Implications for Non-communicable Disease Intervention Development
AU - Sy, Angela
AU - Tannis, Candace
AU - McIntosh, Scott
AU - Demment, Margaret
AU - Tomeing, Tolina
AU - Marriott, Jahron
AU - Fukunaga, Tracee
AU - Buenconsejo-Lum, Lee
AU - Dye, Timothy
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors.
PY - 2020/6
Y1 - 2020/6
N2 - The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is rapidly increasing in low and middle income countries (LMIC). The Republic of the Marshall Islands is an island country in the Pacific located near the equator and has the third highest prevalence of diabetes in the world, high rates of complications, and early mortality with limited or no resources for tertiary care of these complications. Given the limited resources of the country, there is a need for strategies which emphasize NCD prevention. E-health interventions are becoming more popular in LMICs. A rapid qualitative assessment, involving focus groups, site visits, and key informant interviews, was performed to ascertain community perceptions about the causes of NCDs including diabetes and potential solutions. An assessment of the technology infrastructure was conducted to assess capacity for potential e-health interventions. Thirty local participants were interviewed. Participants identified diabetes as the highest priority NCD with dietary shifts toward imported, processed foods and decrease in physical activity as the major causes. Text messaging and Facebook were found to be widely utilized for personal and public communication. Given the low-tech, low-cost communication mechanisms and widespread use of Facebook, a social media intervention could help support local NCD prevention communications initiatives.
AB - The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is rapidly increasing in low and middle income countries (LMIC). The Republic of the Marshall Islands is an island country in the Pacific located near the equator and has the third highest prevalence of diabetes in the world, high rates of complications, and early mortality with limited or no resources for tertiary care of these complications. Given the limited resources of the country, there is a need for strategies which emphasize NCD prevention. E-health interventions are becoming more popular in LMICs. A rapid qualitative assessment, involving focus groups, site visits, and key informant interviews, was performed to ascertain community perceptions about the causes of NCDs including diabetes and potential solutions. An assessment of the technology infrastructure was conducted to assess capacity for potential e-health interventions. Thirty local participants were interviewed. Participants identified diabetes as the highest priority NCD with dietary shifts toward imported, processed foods and decrease in physical activity as the major causes. Text messaging and Facebook were found to be widely utilized for personal and public communication. Given the low-tech, low-cost communication mechanisms and widespread use of Facebook, a social media intervention could help support local NCD prevention communications initiatives.
KW - Diabetes
KW - E-health
KW - Marshall Islands
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087253810&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 32596679
AN - SCOPUS:85087253810
SN - 2165-8218
VL - 79
SP - 52
EP - 57
JO - Hawai'i journal of health & social welfare
JF - Hawai'i journal of health & social welfare
IS - 6
ER -