The evaluation of an m-health solution called TuneMe.org - developed to increase access to information on sexual and reproductive health and rights by adolescents and young people

Summary:

The need for young people to receive quality information on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), prevention of Child marriage, Gender-based Violence (GBV), early and unintended pregnancy drove the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with other partners to take advantage of high rate of access to mobile phones and increasing internet access across Southern Africa to engage young people with age appropriate and accurate SRHR information. As a part of the Safeguard Young People Programme (SYP), TuneMe is a web-based platform that can be accessed through java-enabled devices and simple mobile phones with the intention to promote sexual and reproductive health outcomes for at least 3 million young people (10 to 24) within the first four years and across seven of the eight SYP implementing countries (Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe). TuneMe.org was launched the first time in Zambia in 2015 and all the other six countries followed. Being implemented for more that 4, UNFPA decided to evaluate it.The objective of the evaluation was to understand the users; understand the progress made by individual users towards behavior change; obtain client feedback/satisfaction and obtain insights on implementation of the platform. The evaluation established that interfacing with TuneMe had significantly influenced positively knowledge levels. However, it was also observed that higher success of TuneMe was more in acquisition of information than in the service uptake. The evaluation highlighted some key recommendations that could be easily applied to other mhealth solutions.

Background/Objectives

As a part of the Safeguard Young People Programme (SYP), TuneMe.org is a web-based platform that can be accessed through java-enabled devices and simple mobile phones with the intention to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights across seven of the eight SYP implementing countries in Southern Africa. The mobisite piloted for the first time in Zambia in 2015. The objective of the evaluation was to understand the users; understand the progress made by individual users towards behavior change; obtain client feedback/satisfaction and obtain insights on implementation of the platform.

Description Of Intervention And/or Methods/Design

The evaluation used a mixture of methods, employing a quasi-experimental model based on a within-subject research design aimed at approximating individual changes in sampled TuneMe users. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from sampled users, descriptive trends were queried through Google analytics and more qualitative inquiry was done using Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). The evaluation also used the MSC stories for qualitative inquiry to purposely selected users.

Results/Lessons Learned

Participants' harmonious spontaneous-descriptions of TuneMe as a very good, educative helpful and informative platform, signified its relevancy to the users. It was discovered that each country had a slightly different profile of users who reacted to content differently. Key informant participants reported that TuneMe was relevant to the development agenda of their respective countries. Overall, TuneMe was perceived as an instrumental tool in each country. TuneMe was envisioned to reach at least 3 million young people within the first four years of its inception. The evaluation found that as of July 23 2019, TuneMe had been visited by new users who were 15% greater than the envisioned target. The evaluation established that interfacing with TuneMe had significantly influenced positively knowledge levels. However, it was also observed that higher success of TuneMe was more in acquisition of information than in the service uptake.

Discussion/Implications For The Field

Key recommendations: 1Increased invest in content development and recruitment of appropriately qualified moderators in SRHR. 2TuneMe should be made more interactive, allowing administrators to add new stories, announcing relevant events. 3TuneMe country lead organizations should lobby with Ministries of Education to integrate TuneMe in the curriculum of life-skills and CSE. 4Reaching out strategies should be inclusive as much as possible, to cover the rural populations, and ways of making the service free or less expensive should be found. 5The M&E system for TuneMe must be improved in this regard.

Abstract submitted by: 

Renata Tallarico - UNFPA