Inclusive Innovation: Overcoming the Gender Gap in India's Emerging Mobile Health Ecosystem
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Mobile health (mHealth) leverages the unprecedented reach of digital technologies to improve healthcare delivery. However, in comparison to Indian men, Indian women are 28% less likely to own cell phones and 58% less likely to use mobile internet. This thesis seeks to elucidate the implications of this gender gap for the Indian mHealth space, with a focus on how gendered innovation methodologies might contribute to greater gender equity. To do so, I begin by synthesizing currently disconnected literatures on mHealth, Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D), and the role of gender in Indian society. The practical implications of gendered mobile phone dynamics are further expounded with a case study analyzing Kilkari, a maternal health audio-messaging mHealth program. This thesis then draws on semi-structured interviews with a range of actors in the Indian mHealth space to explore the potential relevance of gendered innovation methodologies. The discussion concludes with an analysis of systemic barriers to gender equity in Indian health care. If mHealth innovations are to truly benefit Indian women, the entire mHealth ecosystem must pursue a more inclusive approach to innovation.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | 2019 - 2020 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Shome, Pretom Roy |
|---|
Subjects
| Subject | mobile phones |
|---|---|
| Subject | gendered innovation |
| Subject | mHealth |
| Subject | ICTs |
| Subject | ICT4D |
| Subject | inclusive innovation |
| Subject | India |
| Subject | STS |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Shome, Pretom. (2020). Inclusive Innovation: Overcoming the Gender Gap in India's Emerging Mobile Health Ecosystem. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Stanford University, Stanford CA.
Collection
Stanford University, Program in Science, Technology and Society, Honors Theses
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- Contact
- pretom.shome@gmail.com
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