scholarly journals Freedom within a cage: how patriarchal gender norms limit women’s use of mobile phones in rural central India

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (Suppl 5) ◽  
pp. e005596
Author(s):  
Kerry Scott ◽  
Aashaka Shinde ◽  
Osama Ummer ◽  
Shalini Yadav ◽  
Manjula Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Time Allocation ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Central India ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Phone Access

IntroductionIndia has one of the highest gender gaps in mobile phone access in the world. As employment opportunities, health messaging (mHealth), access to government entitlements, banking, civic participation and social engagement increasingly take place in the digital sphere, this gender gap risks further exacerbating women’s disadvantage in Indian society. This study identifies the factors driving women’s unequal use of phones in rural Madhya Pradesh, India.MethodsWe interviewed mothers of 1-year-old children (n=29) who reported that they had at least some access to a mobile phone. Whenever possible, we also spoke to their husbands (n=23) and extended family members (n=34) through interviews or family group discussions about the use of phones in their households, as well as their perspectives on gender and phone use more broadly. Our analysis involved comparing wife–husband pairs to assess differences in phone access and use, and thematic coding on the determinants of women’s phone use using an iteratively developed conceptual framework.ResultsWhile respondents reported that women could use the phone without needing permission, this apparent ‘freedom’ existed in a context that severely constrained women’s actual use, most directly through: (1) narrow expectations and desires around how women would use phones, (2) women’s dependence on men for phone ownership and lower proximity to phones, (3) the poorer functionality of women’s phones; (4) women’s limited digital skills, and (5) time allocation constraints, wherein women had less leisure time and were subject to social norms that discouraged using a phone for leisure.ConclusionOur framework, presenting the distal and proximate determinants of women’s phone use, enables more nuanced understanding of India’s digital divide. Addressing these determinants is vital to shift from re-entrenching unequal gender relations to transforming them through digital technology.

What does it mean for a woman to have access to a phone in India? Implications for the development of mHealth interventions for maternal health (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruchita S. Pendse ◽  
Alison M. El Ayadi ◽  
Preetika Sharma ◽  
Alka Ahuja ◽  
Darshan Hosapatna Basavarajappa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Postpartum Care ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pregnancy And Postpartum ◽  
Phone Access

BACKGROUND As mobile phone uptake in India continues to grow, there is continued interest in mobile platform-based interventions for health education among other topics. Existing studies demonstrate a significant gender gap in mobile phone access, and suggest women’s access to mobile phones is constrained by economic and diverse social barriers. Pregnancy and postpartum care is one of many targets for mobile health (mHealth) interventions which particularly rely on women’s access to and facility with mobile phone use. OBJECTIVE This paper describes dynamics and patterns of women’s mobile phone access and use among both phone owners and non-owners, including potential barriers to mHealth participation. METHODS Mixed-methods data were obtained from two different surveys (n=102 and n=29), two sets of in-depth interviews (n=20 and 29), and weekly data collection obtained in preparation for or within the pilot of an mHealth postpartum care intervention in rural Punjab in July 2020-February 2021. RESULTS A majority of women owned their own phone, though about half (52%) of phone owners still reported sharing their phone with other family members. Sharing a phone with female family members typically allowed for better access than sharing with male family members. Some households have strict preferences against daughters-in-law having phones, or otherwise significantly restrict or control women’s phone access. Others reported concerns about phone use-related health hazards during pregnancy or postpartum for mother and infant. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest significant variability and nuance to what is meant by women’s phone ownership and access given the numerous additional constraints on their use of phones, particularly during pregnancy and postpartum. Future research and mHealth interventions should probe these domains to better understand these dynamics governing women’s access, use, and fluency with mobile phones to optimally design mHealth interventions. mHealth, mobile health, digital health, India, pregnancy, pregnant women, postpartum, postpartum care INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/preprints.34087

scholarly journals Another voice in the crowd: the challenge of changing family planning and child feeding practices through mHealth messaging in rural central India

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (Suppl 5) ◽  
pp. e005868
Author(s):  
Kerry Scott ◽  
Osama Ummer ◽  
Aashaka Shinde ◽  
Manjula Sharma ◽  
Shalini Yadav ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Central India ◽  
Modern Contraceptive ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Randomised Controlled

IntroductionKilkari is one of the world’s largest mobile phone-based health messaging programmes. Developed by BBC Media Action, it provides weekly stage-based information to pregnant and postpartum women and their families, including on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and family planning, to compliment the efforts of frontline health workers. The quantitative component of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh found that exposure to Kilkari increased modern contraceptive uptake but did not change IYCF practices. This qualitative research complements the RCT to explore why these findings may have emerged.MethodsWe used system generated data to identify households within the RCT with very high to medium Kilkari listenership. Mothers (n=29), as well as husbands and extended family members (n=25 interviews/family group discussions) were interviewed about IYCF and family planning, including their reactions to Kilkari’s calls on these topics. Analysis was informed by the theory of reciprocal determinism, which positions behaviour change within the interacting domains of individual attributes, social and environmental determinants, and existing practices.ResultsWhile women who owned and controlled their own phones were the Kilkari listeners, among women who did not own their own phones, it was often their husbands who listened. Spouses did not discuss Kilkari messages. Respondents retained and appreciated Kilkari messages that aligned with their pre-existing worldviews, social norms, and existing practices. However, they overlooked or de-emphasised content that did not. In this way, they reported agreeing with and trusting Kilkari while persisting with practices that went against Kilkari’s recommendations, particularly non-exclusive breastfeeding and inappropriate complementary feeding.ConclusionTo deepen impact, digital direct to beneficiary services need to be complimented by wider communication efforts (e.g., sustained face-to-face, media, community engagement) to change social norms, taking into account the role of socio-environmental, behavioural, and individual determinants.

scholarly journals Using Facebook Ad Data to Track the Global Digital Gender Gap

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masoomali Fatehkia ◽  
Ridhi Kashyap ◽  
Ingmar Weber
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Gender Gaps ◽  
Mobile Access ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Official Data

Gender equality in access to the internet and mobile phones has become increasingly recognised as a development goal. Monitoring progress towards this goal however is challenging due to the limited availability of gender-disaggregated data, particularly in low-income countries. In this data sparse context, we examine the potential of a source of digital trace `big data' -- Facebook's advertisement audience estimates -- that provides aggregate data on Facebook users by demographic characteristics covering the platform's over 2 billion users to measure and `nowcast' digital gender gaps. We generate a unique country-level dataset combining `online' indicators of Facebook users by gender, age and device type, `offline' indicators related to a country's overall development and gender gaps, and official data on gender gaps in internet and mobile access where available. Using this dataset, we predict internet and mobile phone gender gaps from official data using online indicators, as well as online and offline indicators. We find that the online Facebook gender gap indicators are highly correlated with official statistics on internet and mobile phone gender gaps. For internet gender gaps, models using Facebook data do better than those using offline indicators alone. Models combining online and offline variables however have the highest predictive power. Our approach demonstrates the feasibility of using Facebook data for real-time tracking of digital gender gaps. It enables us to improve geographical coverage for an important development indicator, with the biggest gains made for low-income countries for which existing data are most limited.

scholarly journals 428. Mobile Phone Access and Comfort: Implications for HIV and Tuberculosis Care in India and South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S162-S162
Author(s):  
Sarah N Cox ◽  
Jessica Elf ◽  
Rahul Lokhande ◽  
Yasmin P Ogale ◽  
Lisa DiAndreth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Phone Access ◽  
Tuberculosis Care

Gender gap for mobile access may widen with COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Mobile Phone Use ◽  
Mobile Access ◽  
Development Goals

Rising mobile phone use has helped advance multiple development goals

scholarly journals A study to evaluate mobile phone dependence among students of a medical college and associated hospital of central India

2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Dixit ◽  
Harish Shukla ◽  
AK Bhagwat ◽  
Arpita Bindal ◽  
Abhilasha Goyal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Central India ◽  
Medical College

scholarly journals Examining the Experiences of Older Women with ICTs

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (s1) ◽  
pp. 57-70
Author(s):  
Barbara Ratzenböck
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Older Women ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Media Practices ◽  
A Current ◽  
Empirical Material

AbstractA current empirical study explores how Austrian women aged 60 to 70 use and ascribe meaning to ICTs such as television, radio, mobile phone, computer or the Internet. In the study, life-graphs, semi-structured interviews, and indoor walking interviews are used to examine the everyday usage and interpretation of ICTs by older women, coming from various social backgrounds and living in the Austrian region of Styria. Analysing empirical material of the study, this paper focuses on the interrelation of generation-specific media practices and individual (media) biographies as they both influence older women's usage of and attitude towards ICTs. By using Maierhofer's concept of “anocriticism” as a frame for the analysis of the material in addition to Mannheim's idea of “generation location”, it becomes possible to elaborate on a more nuanced understanding of the relation between collective experiences within time and individual life-course perspectives in the context of ICTs.

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