TY - JOUR T1 - Cell phones and CHWs: a transformational marriage? JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT SP - 1 LP - 2 DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-14-00007 VL - 2 IS - 1 A2 - , Y1 - 2014/02/01 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/2/1/1.abstract N2 - Mobile phones can be transformative for community health workers (CHWs) in enhancing their influence and status and helping to solve practical problems. While formal intervention research can help advance mHealth application, most progress will come through a “diffusion of innovation” process. Community health workers (CHWs) have a key role to play if we are to achieve our ambitious goals to reduce child and maternal mortality globally. A wide diversity of CHW cadres have been established in many countries, both in the public sector and with nongovernmental organizations, yet several major challenges have emerged: Limited population coverage Motivation and retention (especially when CHWs are volunteers) Supervision Quality of service Best constellation of services for the most impact, without overburdening the CHW While mHealth is no panacea, it can help address each of these challenges substantially, notably via one simple technology—the increasingly ubiquitous … ER -