Abstract
Objectives Undertake a systematic scoping review to
determine how a research evidence base, in the form
of existing systematic reviews in the field of mobile
health (mHealth), constitutes education and training
for community health workers (CHWs) who use mobile
technologies in everyday work. The review was informed
by the following research questions: does educational
theory inform the design of the education and training
component of mHealth interventions? How is education
and training with mobile technology by CHWs in lowincome
and middle-income countries categorised by
existing systematic reviews? What is the basis for this
categorisation?
Setting The review explored the literature from 2000
to 2017 to investigate how mHealth interventions have
been positioned within the available evidence base in
relation to their use of formal theories of learning.
Results The scoping review found 24 primary studies
that were categorised by 16 systematic reviews as
supporting CHWs’ education and training using mobile
technologies. However, when formal theories of learning
from educational research were used to recategorise
these 24 primary studies, only four could be coded
as such. This identifies a problem with how CHWs’
education and training using mobile technologies
is understood and categorised within the existing
evidence base. This is because there is no agreed on,
theoretically informed understanding of what counts as
learning.
Conclusion The claims made by mHealth researchers
and practitioners regarding the learning benefits of
mobile technology are not based on research results
that are underpinned by formal theories of learning.
mHealth suffers from a reductionist view of learning
that underestimates the complexities of the relationship
between pedagogy and technology. This has resulted in
miscategorisations of what constitutes CHWs’ education
and training within the existing evidence base. This can
be overcome by informed collaboration between the
health and education communities.