IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v94y2017icp286-304.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Social Implications of Technology Diffusion: Uncovering the Unintended Consequences of People’s Health-Related Mobile Phone Use in Rural India and China

Author

Listed:
  • Haenssgen, Marco J.
  • Ariana, Proochista

Abstract

After three decades of mobile phone diffusion, thousands of mobile-phone-based health projects worldwide (“mHealth”), and hundreds of thousands of smartphone health applications, fundamental questions about the effect of phone diffusion on people’s healthcare behavior continue to remain unanswered. This study investigated whether, in the absence of specific mHealth interventions, people make different healthcare decisions if they use mobile phones during an illness. Following mainstream narratives, we hypothesized that phone use during an illness (a) increases and (b) accelerates healthcare access.

Suggested Citation

  • Haenssgen, Marco J. & Ariana, Proochista, 2017. "The Social Implications of Technology Diffusion: Uncovering the Unintended Consequences of People’s Health-Related Mobile Phone Use in Rural India and China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 286-304.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:94:y:2017:i:c:p:286-304
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.01.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X17300281
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.01.014?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Balsa, Ana I. & McGuire, Thomas G., 2003. "Prejudice, clinical uncertainty and stereotyping as sources of health disparities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 89-116, January.
    2. Planning Commission, 2012. "Mid Term Appraisal of Eleventh Five Year Plan - 2007 - 2012," Working Papers id:5158, eSocialSciences.
    3. Asenso-Okyere, W. K. & Dzator, Janet A., 1997. "Household cost of seeking malaria care. A retrospective study of two districts in Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 659-667, September.
    4. Emily Oster & Rebecca Thornton, 2012. "Determinants Of Technology Adoption: Peer Effects In Menstrual Cup Take-Up," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(6), pages 1263-1293, December.
    5. Robert T. Jensen, 2010. "Information, efficiency, and welfare in agricultural markets," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(s1), pages 203-216, November.
    6. Jenny C. Aker & Isaac M. Mbiti, 2010. "Mobile Phones and Economic Development in Africa," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 207-232, Summer.
    7. Cawley, John & Ruhm, Christopher J., 2011. "The Economics of Risky Health Behaviors," Handbook of Health Economics, in: Mark V. Pauly & Thomas G. Mcguire & Pedro P. Barros (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 95-199, Elsevier.
    8. Ahmed, Syed Masud & Adams, Alayne M. & Chowdhury, Mushtaque & Bhuiya, Abbas, 2000. "Gender, socioeconomic development and health-seeking behaviour in Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 361-371, August.
    9. Das, Jishnu & Hammer, Jeffrey & Sánchez-Paramo, Carolina, 2012. "The impact of recall periods on reported morbidity and health seeking behavior," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 76-88.
    10. Dammert, Ana C. & Galdo, Jose C. & Galdo, Virgilio, 2014. "Preventing dengue through mobile phones: Evidence from a field experiment in Peru," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 147-161.
    11. Kremer, Michael & Glennerster, Rachel, 2011. "Improving Health in Developing Countries," Handbook of Health Economics, in: Mark V. Pauly & Thomas G. Mcguire & Pedro P. Barros (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 201-315, Elsevier.
    12. Blomqvist, Ake, 1991. "The doctor as double agent: Information asymmetry, health insurance, and medical care," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 411-432.
    13. -, 2009. "Introducción Al Idioma Japonés," Observatorio Iberoamericano de la Economía y la Sociedad del Japón, Servicios Académicos Intercontinentales SL, issue 4, January.
    14. Scott, Anthony, 2000. "Economics of general practice," Handbook of Health Economics, in: A. J. Culyer & J. P. Newhouse (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 22, pages 1175-1200, Elsevier.
    15. Jishnu Das & Jeffrey Hammer & Kenneth Leonard, 2008. "The Quality of Medical Advice in Low-Income Countries," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(2), pages 93-114, Spring.
    16. Robert Jensen, 2007. "The Digital Provide: Information (Technology), Market Performance, and Welfare in the South Indian Fisheries Sector," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 879-924.
    17. Sophia Rabe-Hesketh & Anders Skrondal, 2012. "Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling Using Stata, 3rd Edition," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, edition 3, number mimus2, March.
    18. Jessica Cohen & Pascaline Dupas & Simone Schaner, 2015. "Price Subsidies, Diagnostic Tests, and Targeting of Malaria Treatment: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(2), pages 609-645, February.
    19. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    20. Jill E. Luoto & David I. Levine & Jeff Albert, 2011. "Information and Persuasion Achieving Safe Water Behaviors in Kenya," Working Papers WR-885, RAND Corporation.
    21. Maja Micevska, 2005. "Telecommunications, Public Health, and Demand for Health-Related Information and Infrastructure," Information Technologies and International Development, MIT Press, vol. 2(3), pages 57-72.
    22. Morten Pedersen & Mikkel Bunkenborg, 2012. "Roads that Separate: Sino-Mongolian Relations in the Inner Asian Desert," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(4), pages 555-569.
    23. von Hippel, Eric, 2010. "Open User Innovation," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 411-427, Elsevier.
    24. Pascaline Dupas, 2011. "Health Behavior in Developing Countries," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 425-449, September.
    25. Jill Luoto & David I. Levine & Jeff Albert, 2011. "Information and Persuasion Achieving Safe Water Behaviors in Kenya," Working Papers 885, RAND Corporation.
    26. Eduardo Nakasone & Maximo Torero & Bart Minten, 2014. "The Power of Information: The ICT Revolution in Agricultural Development," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 533-550, October.
    27. Wilson, F.A. & Stimpson, J.P., 2010. "Trends in fatalities from distracted driving in the United States, 1999 to 2008," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(11), pages 2213-2219.
    28. Hampshire, Kate & Porter, Gina & Owusu, Samuel Asiedu & Mariwah, Simon & Abane, Albert & Robson, Elsbeth & Munthali, Alister & DeLannoy, Ariane & Bango, Andisiwe & Gunguluza, Nwabisa & Milner, James, 2015. "Informal m-health: How are young people using mobile phones to bridge healthcare gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 90-99.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Xiuhua & Wang, Yipeng & Zhao, Yaxiong, 2022. "Financial permeation and rural poverty reduction Nexus: Further insights from counties in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Aziz, Sonia & Boyle, Kevin & Akanda, Ali S. & Hanifi, M.A. & Pakhtigian, Emily L., 2022. "Early Warning Systems, Mobile Technology, and Cholera Aversion: Evidence from Rural Bangladesh," RFF Working Paper Series 22-24, Resources for the Future.
    3. Anstey Watkins, Jocelyn Olivia Todd & Goudge, Jane & Gómez-Olivé, Francesc Xavier & Griffiths, Frances, 2018. "Mobile phone use among patients and health workers to enhance primary healthcare: A qualitative study in rural South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 139-147.
    4. M Vimalkumar & Jang Bahadur Singh & Sujeet Kumar Sharma, 0. "Exploring the Multi-Level Digital Divide in Mobile Phone Adoption: A Comparison of Developing Nations," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-20.
    5. Oughton, Edward J. & Comini, Niccolò & Foster, Vivien & Hall, Jim W., 2022. "Policy choices can help keep 4G and 5G universal broadband affordable," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    6. Haenssgen, Marco J., 2018. "The struggle for digital inclusion: Phones, healthcare, and marginalisation in rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 358-374.
    7. Pakhtigian, Emily L. & Aziz, Sonia & Boyle, Kevin J. & Akanda, Ali S. & Hanifi, S.M.A., 2024. "Early warning systems, mobile technology, and cholera aversion: Evidence from rural Bangladesh," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    8. Emmanuel W. Ayaburi & Francis Kofi Andoh-Baidoo & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & Banita Lal, 2022. "Editorial: Special Issue on “Bright ICT: Security, Privacy and Risk Issues”," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 371-373, April.
    9. Sebastian MP, 2019. "Smart Hospitals: Challenges and Opportunities," Working papers 315, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    10. Hampshire, Kate & Mwase-Vuma, Tawonga & Alemu, Kassahun & Abane, Albert & Munthali, Alister & Awoke, Tadesse & Mariwah, Simon & Chamdimba, Elita & Owusu, Samuel Asiedu & Robson, Elsbeth & Castelli, Mi, 2021. "Informal mhealth at scale in Africa: Opportunities and challenges," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    11. Haenssgen, Marco J. & Charoenboon, Nutcha & Zanello, Giacomo, 2021. "You’ve got a friend in me: How social networks and mobile phones facilitate healthcare access among marginalised groups in rural Thailand and Lao PDR," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    12. M Vimalkumar & Jang Bahadur Singh & Sujeet Kumar Sharma, 2021. "Exploring the Multi-Level Digital Divide in Mobile Phone Adoption: A Comparison of Developing Nations," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1057-1076, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haenssgen, Marco J. & Charoenboon, Nutcha & Zanello, Giacomo, 2021. "You’ve got a friend in me: How social networks and mobile phones facilitate healthcare access among marginalised groups in rural Thailand and Lao PDR," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. Kazushi Takahashi & Yukichi Mano & Keijiro Otsuka, 2018. "Spillovers as a Driver to Reduce Ex-post Inequality Generated by Randomized Experiments: Evidence from an Agricultural Training Intervention," Working Papers 174, JICA Research Institute.
    3. Dammert, Ana C. & Galdo, Jose C. & Galdo, Virgilio, 2014. "Preventing dengue through mobile phones: Evidence from a field experiment in Peru," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 147-161.
    4. Haenssgen, Marco J., 2018. "The struggle for digital inclusion: Phones, healthcare, and marginalisation in rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 358-374.
    5. Flückiger, Matthias & Ludwig, Markus, 2023. "Mobile phone coverage and infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 462-485.
    6. Arimoto, Yutaka & Kono, Hisaki & Ralandison, Tsilavo & Sakurai, Takeshi & Takahashi, Kazushi, 2015. "Understanding traders' regional arbitage : the case of rice traders in Antananarivo, Madagascar," IDE Discussion Papers 505, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    7. Marco Manacorda & Andrea Tesei, 2020. "Liberation Technology: Mobile Phones and Political Mobilization in Africa," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(2), pages 533-567, March.
    8. Brown, Joe & Hamoudi, Amar & Jeuland, Marc & Turrini, Gina, 2017. "Seeing, believing, and behaving: Heterogeneous effects of an information intervention on household water treatment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 141-159.
    9. Dillon, Andrew & Friedman, Jed & Serneels, Pieter, 2014. "Health Information, Treatment, and Worker Productivity: Experimental Evidence from Malaria Testing and Treatment among Nigerian Sugarcane Cutters," IZA Discussion Papers 8074, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Sekabira, Haruna & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Can mobile phones improve gender equality and nutrition? Panel data evidence from farm households in Uganda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 95-103.
    11. Herrera-Almanza, Catalina & Rosales-Rueda, Maria F., 2020. "Reducing the Cost of Remoteness: Community-Based Health Interventions and Fertility Choices," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    12. Eduardo Nakasone & Maximo Torero, 2016. "A text message away: ICTs as a tool to improve food security," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 49-59, November.
    13. Sawan Rathi & Anindya S. Chakrabarti & Chirantan Chatterjee & Aparna Hegde, 2022. "Pandemics and technology engagement: New evidence from m‐Health intervention during COVID‐19 in India," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 2184-2217, November.
    14. Rudra P. Pradhan & Mak B. Arvin & John H. Hall & Sara E. Bennett, 2018. "Mobile telephony, economic growth, financial development, foreign direct investment, and imports of ICT goods: the case of the G-20 countries," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 45(2), pages 279-310, June.
    15. Ahmad, Ahmad Hassan & Green, Christopher J. & Jiang, Fei & Murinde, Victor, 2023. "Mobile money, ICT, financial inclusion and growth: How different is Africa?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    16. Chris Parker & Kamalini Ramdas & Nicos Savva, 2016. "Is IT Enough? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in India’s Agriculture Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(9), pages 2481-2503, September.
    17. Ana Dammert & Jose Galdo & Virgilio Galdo, 2015. "Integrating mobile phone technologies into labor-market intermediation: a multi-treatment experimental design," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-27, December.
    18. Baulia, Susmita, 2024. "Is household shock a boon or bane to the utilisation of preventive healthcare for children? Evidence from Uganda," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    19. Tesei, Andrea & Ponticelli, Jacopo & Gupta, Apoorv, 2019. "Technology Adoption and Access to Credit via Mobile Phones," CEPR Discussion Papers 13956, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Sautmann,Anja & Brown,Samuel & Kline,Dean Mark, 2020. "Subsidies, Information, and the Timing of Children’s Health Care in Mali," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9486, The World Bank.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:94:y:2017:i:c:p:286-304. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.