Sexual and Reproductive Health Mobile Apps - Results from a Cross-sectional Values and Preferences Survey to Inform World Health Organization Normative Guidance on Self-care Interventions

Jul 19, 2026

Mobile application (app) platforms have the potential to advance sexual and reproductive health (SRH), but healthcare providers’ global perspectives on real-world use remain limited. In 2019, WHO developed a consolidated guideline on self-care interventions for SRH; this study used a global web-based values and preferences survey to inform that work. Among 825 participants, 360 were healthcare providers (HCP). Results assessed awareness, access, uptake, referral and linkage behaviors, and provider confidence, needs for further information, and interest in training.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

Abstract

Survey aim and design

Participants and key findings

Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized AUTHOR ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT FINAL PUBLICATION INFORMATION Sexual and Reproductive Health Mobile Apps Results from a Cross-sectional Values and Preferences Survey to Inform World Health Organization Normative Guidance on Self-care Interventions The definitive version of the text was subsequently published in Global Health Action, 13(1), 2020-08-11 Published by Taylor and Francis and found at [http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1796346](http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1796346) THE FINAL PUBLISHED VERSION OF THIS MANUSCRIPT IS AVAILABLE ON THE PUBLISHER’S PLATFORM This Author Accepted Manuscript is copyrighted by World Bank and published by Taylor and Francis. It is posted here by agreement between them. Changes resulting from the publishing process—such as editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms—may not be reflected in this version of the text. You may download, copy, and distribute this Author Accepted Manuscript for noncommercial purposes. Your license is limited by the following restrictions: (1) You may use this Author Accepted Manuscript for noncommercial purposes only under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO license [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo). (2) The integrity of the work and identification of the author, copyright owner, and publisher must be preserved in any copy. (3) You must attribute this Author Accepted Manuscript in the following format: This is an Author Accepted Manuscript by Logie, Carmen H.; Okumu, Moses; Abela, Heather; Wilson, David; Narasimhan, Manjulaa Sexual and Reproductive Health Mobile Apps © World Bank, published in the Global Health Action13(1) 2020-08-11 CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo) [http://](http://)[ ](http://)[dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1796346](dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1796346) © 2021 World Bank 1 Short communication: 2 3 4 Sexual and reproductive health mobile apps: Results from a cross-sectional values and 5 preferences survey to inform World Health Organization normative guidance on self-care 6 interventions 7 8 Running head: SRH mobile apps 9 10 Carmen H. Logie* 1, Moses Okumu2, Heather Abela 1, David Wilson3, Manjulaa Narasimhan4 11 12 13 1: Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada 14 2: School of Social Work, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States 15 3: Health, Nutrition, and Population Global Practice, World Bank, Washington D.C., United 16 States 17 4: Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, 18 Geneva, Switzerland 19 20 CHL:carmen.logie@utoronto.ca 21 [MO: ](MO: mokumu@email.unc.edu)[mokumu@email.unc.edu](MO: mokumu@email.unc.edu) 22 [HA: ](HA: heather.abela@mail.utoronto.ca)[heather.abela@mail.utoronto.ca](HA: heather.abela@mail.utoronto.ca) 23 DW: [dwilson@worldbank.org](dwilson@worldbank.org) 24 [MN: ](MN: narasimhanm@who.int)[narasimhanm@who.int](MN: narasimhanm@who.int)[ ](MN: narasimhanm@who.int)25 26 § Corresponding author: 27 Carmen H. Logie 28 Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor Street East 29 Toronto, ON, M5S 1V4, Canada 30 Phone: 1 (647) 454 4203 31 Fax: 416-978-7072 32 carmen.logie@utoronto.ca 33 34 Keywords: sexual health; reproductive health; mHealth; healthcare provider; mobile app; 35 healthcare training; access 36 Short communication: 37 38 Sexual and reproductive health mobile apps: Results from a cross-sectional values and 39 preferences survey to inform WHO normative guidance on self-care interventions 40 41 42 Abstract 43 44 Mobile application (app) platforms have the potential to advance sexual and reproductive health 45 (SRH). Yet there is a dear

FAQs

What was the purpose of the values and preferences survey?

To inform WHO’s normative guidance on self-care interventions for sexual and reproductive health by examining providers’ awareness, access, uptake, and related linkage/referral behaviors for SRH mobile apps.

How many participants and healthcare providers were included in the survey?

There were 825 total participants, including 360 who identified as healthcare providers (HCP).

What themes did healthcare providers highlight regarding SRH self-care mobile apps?

Providers emphasized security and confidentiality, benefits for underserved groups, community engagement, health benefits, and the need for online training for HCP.

Jul 19, 2026

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