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Mobile Phones in Rural Papua New Guinea: a Transformation in Health Communication and Delivery Services in Western Highlands Province

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Mobile Phones in Rural Papua New Guinea: a Transformation in Health Communication and Delivery Services in Western Highlands Province Mobile Phones in Rural Papua New Guinea: A Transformation in Health Communication and Delivery Services in Western Highlands Province Henry Yamo Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Communication Studies School of Communication Studies Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies Auckland University of Technology (AUT) February, 2013 Declaration of Authorship I, Henry Yamo, declare that this thesis is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other degree of diploma of a university or higher learning institution. Signed: ____________________________ Date: 25/02/2013 Mobile phones in rural PNG: A transformation in health communication and delivery services i Keywords Tele-hausline In neo-Pidgin English, hausline means a tribe or village under a tribal chief. Hence, tele- hausline may mean a telecommunication concept targeted at village communities. TokPisin The second most common language spoken in PNG along with English and Police Motu Mobile phones in rural PNG: A transformation in health communication and delivery services ii Abstract Broadband telecommunication services are growing rapidly and spreading at a remarkable pace. Globally, mobile phones are one of the most universally available technologies today that have most affected people‟s lives, both in developed and developing countries. This mode of communication has spread at such an astonishing rate that it has leapfrogged certain stages of communication in some developing countries. The introduction and use of mobile phones in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a new phenomenon. Many people, both in rural and urban parts of the country, have come to embrace this wholeheartedly. The mobile phone has become a necessity in every home and can be found almost everywhere in the country, whether in urban centres or the most isolated parts of the country. In rural areas where basic government services have progressively ceased to exist, people perceive the mobile phone as a beacon of hope that keeps them in touch with the outside world, giving them a new lease of life. The mobile phone has in a remarkable way lessened the ever increasing 'digital divide' between the haves and have-nots in a country where computers and fixed-line telephones were viewed as luxury items affordable only by the well-to-do and working people. Research shows that mobile phones are useful for people both in developed and developing countries. It is a means of conducting business and a potential tool for delivery of basic services. This development communication case study is based around the Closed User Group (CUG) service, a telecommunication product introduced to the country by Ireland-based mobile communication transnational, Digicel. This CUG service was introduced to the provincial health sector by the Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority (WHPHA), by equipping health care workers (HCW) with mobile phones to enable ease of communication among the workers and between health facilities in the province. This study using, phenomenology as part of the research framework, was undertaken to discover if the flow of communication through mobile phones can assist to meet the unique challenges of delivering health services to the rural areas. Mobile phones in rural PNG: A transformation in health communication and delivery services iii Table of Contents Declaration of Authorship ................................................................................................................ i Keywords ........................................................................................................................................ ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables by Chapter ............................................................................................................. viii List of Graphs ................................................................................................................................ xi Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ xii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... xiii Research location ......................................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1: Research question .......................................................................................................... 3 1.2: Significance of research ........................................................................................................ 3 CHAPTER 2: Literature Review .................................................................................................... 6 2.1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 6 2.2: Social and political landscape ............................................................................................... 6 2.3: Traditional and modern communication ................................................................................ 8 2.4: Phenomenology ................................................................................................................... 10 2.4.1: Phenomena as experienced - other studies ................................................................... 11 2.4.2: Communication evolution as phenomena ..................................................................... 11 2.4.3: Mobile phone phenomenon in PNG ............................................................................ 12 2.4.4: Phenomenon related to mobile phone use by health workers in WHP ........................ 12 2.5: Change in communication technology ................................................................................ 13 2.6: Can the mobile phone be a tool? ......................................................................................... 14 2.7: Communication and mobile phones in the world ................................................................ 15 2.8: Mobile phones in developing countries ............................................................................... 15 2.9: Empirical studies on use of mobile communication ........................................................... 16 2.10: Communication, information and empowerment .............................................................. 17 2.11: Digital divide ..................................................................................................................... 18 2.12: Leapfrogging ..................................................................................................................... 20 2.13: Advantages, productivity, information and service delivery ............................................. 21 2.14: Disadvantages, social disorders, health, cost and wellbeing ............................................. 23 2.15: Telemedicine with mobile phones ..................................................................................... 25 2.16: Gaps in the literature ......................................................................................................... 27 2.17: Summary ........................................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 3: Purpose of the Research ........................................................................................ 30 3.1: Purpose ................................................................................................................................ 30 Table of content iv 3.2: Mobile communication in health care delivery ................................................................... 31 3.3: Earlier ICT initiatives in the PNG health sector .................................................................. 32 3.4: PNG business sector adopting ICT to deliver services ....................................................... 34 3.5: Summary ............................................................................................................................. 36 CHAPTER 4: Theoretical Perspective .......................................................................................... 37 4.1: Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 37 4.2: Early communication methods ............................................................................................ 37 4.3: Mobile phone as a communication tool............................................................................... 38 4.4: Maintaining communication systems-is it a must? ............................................................. 39 4.5: Summary ............................................................................................................................
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