Train and prevent. Survey of trainers and users of mobile applications in the context of a health emergency
This research contributes to the socio-anthropological and psychological analysis of local perception systems as well as the determining factors of the use or non-use of mobile technology in the protection and health of populations in emergency situations.
The springs of the “resistance to change” of people trained by the Haitian Red Cross Training Center.
This project aims to analyze the system of factors involved in the use or non-use of mobile applications by people trained by the Haitian Red Cross Training Center. It involves examining the main determinants (teaching methods, socio-demographic and cultural variables, individual perception mode, etc.) to understand the springs of this “resistance to change”, in other words the relationship that users end up developing with these technologies applied to health. Ultimately, the study proposes, based on the data collected, possible solutions to this adaptation problem.
Given the two central axes of the project, the main objectives of the research are structured around the following elements:
Understanding the teaching methods used by the CRH training center and knowing the preferences of the people concerned in terms of training methods;
Determine the point of view of the actors regarding the effectiveness of these methods, particularly with regard to first aid;
Describe and analyze the perception system of the respondents (trainers and trained persons) with regard to the “First Aid” application and how to integrate it most effectively into the existing training system.
Perceptions and Uses of the “First Aid” Application
In Haiti, one of the nations most vulnerable to natural disasters and earthquakes, the structural inadequacies that limit access to basic services and increase the chronic vulnerability of populations are exacerbated by the profound weakness of state institutions. In addition, the information needed to access health care services is not always available. This is why, at the request of the Haitian Red Cross (HRC), the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) worked to improve a “First Aid” mobile application created a few years ago by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), with the aim of making key information more easily accessible to CRH volunteers.
In order to study the gap between perceptions and uses of this application, the study is based on a mixed methodology. First, the questionnaires were administered to volunteers and then self-administered via Google Forms using a snowball sample. Second, focus groups were conducted with the same stakeholders, the aim being to better understand their perception and the relationship they develop with the application. Finally, six volunteers were followed for 6 months to better understand the relationship they develop with the application.
Understanding the psycho-sociological factors blocking the implementation of mobile technologies in the protection and health of populations in emergency situations
A great deal of research has highlighted the crucial role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the management of populations during natural disasters. In the case of Haiti, several studies including those of Bengtsson et al. (2011) have shown that mobile phones allow for much better and more rigorous mapping of population movements in the event of a natural disaster. However, little research has been devoted to the actual uses that have been or are being made of these technologies, nor has it examined the perception of both trainers and users, in particular people trained by the Haitian Red Cross training center on the use of mobile applications in a humanitarian context (natural disasters, epidemics, etc.). This research thus contributes to the socio-anthropological and psychological analysis of local perception systems as well as the determining factors of the use or non-use of mobile technology in the protection and health of populations in emergency situations. More specifically, it will help, on the one hand, to understand the blocking factors in the implementation and application of the device in question, and, on the other hand, to understand, more generally, the main determinants of access to care.
Biography
Lukinson Jean is a sociologist with a PhD in Social Sciences of Health. After a degree in philosophy at the ENS in Port-au-Prince, he began studying sociology from his undergraduate to his doctorate at the University of Limoges in France. His thesis focused on the strategies used by caregivers to include and manage the elderly in a preventive medical trial on Alzheimer’s disease entitled Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial (MAPT study). His current research focuses on the socioeconomics and socioanthropology of health, the sociology of the State and social problems, and the analysis of social and health policies.