{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T08:07:28Z","timestamp":1784275648528,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,17]],"date-time":"2026-02-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771286400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":47,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,17]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Mobile health (mHealth) technologies are important for supporting health service delivery and enhancing workforce performance in low- and middle-income countries. Alongside mHealth technologies endorsed by Departments of Health, healthcare workers are using messaging applications (apps), such as WhatsApp, informally on their personal mobile phones to fulfil work tasks. Our objective was to explore the use of mobile phone messaging apps for daily work among healthcare workers and managers in South Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional anonymous online survey with public and private sector healthcare workers, recruited via the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority database from February 2022 to May 2022. A total of 2174 healthcare workers participated and data were analysed using Stata SE. Most participants were female (73.8%), Caucasian (70.4%), English-speaking (53.7%), and had a postgraduate degree (58%). Over two-thirds of participants (67.5%) worked in the private sector, 81.4% were urban-based and doctors were the largest group (35%). Most participants (90%) reported using a messaging app for work-related communication, mostly WhatsApp (84%). Participants reported using messaging apps for contacting colleagues (52.1%), patient referrals (50.6%) and clinical management information (47.5%). Apps were also used for sharing appointment times and reminders (44.7%) with patients. App use across the public and private sectors and healthcare facility types was similar. Most healthcare workers (79.3%) did not receive a mobile phone data allowance. The survey shows that informal use of messaging apps by healthcare workers in South Africa is widespread and needs to be considered in digital health strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/oodh\/oqag005","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,16]],"date-time":"2026-02-16T12:19:08Z","timestamp":1771244348000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Healthcare workers\u2019 and managers\u2019 uses of mobile phone messaging applications (apps) in their daily work in South Africa: a survey"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"4","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7521-9515","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simon","family":"Lewin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences \u00c5lesund, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) , Larsg\u00e5rdsvegen 2, \u00c5lesund, 6009 ,","place":["Norway"]},{"name":"Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research (SAMRC) , Francie van Zijl Drive, Parrowvallei, Cape Town, 7503 ,","place":["South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Janan Janine","family":"Dietrich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research (SAMRC) , Francie van Zijl Drive, Parrowvallei, Cape Town, 7503 ,","place":["South Africa"]},{"name":"African Social Sciences Unit of Research and Evaluation (ASSURE), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand , 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 ,","place":["South Africa"]},{"name":"Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand , 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 ,","place":["South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mamakiri","family":"Mulaudzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, School of Human and Community Development, University of the Witwatersrand , 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 ,","place":["South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tondani","family":"Mudau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research (SAMRC) , Francie van Zijl Drive, Parrowvallei, Cape Town, 7503 ,","place":["South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lerato","family":"Tsotetsi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"African Social Sciences Unit of Research and Evaluation (ASSURE), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand , 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 ,","place":["South Africa"]},{"name":"Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research (SAMRC) , Francie van Zijl Drive, Parrowvallei, Cape Town, 7503 ,","place":["South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tanya","family":"Doherty","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research (SAMRC) , Francie van Zijl Drive, Parrowvallei, Cape Town, 7503 ,","place":["South Africa"]},{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town , Lovers Walk, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700 ,","place":["South Africa"]},{"name":"School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Road , Bellville, Cape Town, 7535 ,","place":["South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026071703541091600_ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1707403","DOI":"10.1080\/16549716.2019.1707403","article-title":"\"we do what we can do to save a woman\" health workers' perceptions of health facility readiness for management of postpartum haemorrhage","volume":"13","author":"Alwy Al-Beity","year":"2020","journal-title":"Glob Health Action"},{"key":"2026071703541091600_ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2018.01.011","article-title":"Mobile phone use among patients and health workers to enhance primary healthcare: a qualitative study in rural South Africa","volume":"198","author":"Anstey Watkins","year":"2018","journal-title":"Soc Sci Med"},{"key":"2026071703541091600_ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112387","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2019.112387","article-title":"Invisible work and changing roles: health information technology implementation and reorganization of work practices for the inpatient nursing team","volume":"235","author":"Bergey","year":"2019","journal-title":"Soc Sci Med"},{"key":"2026071703541091600_ref4","unstructured":"Bortoli M, Toma T, Melo D \u00a0et\u00a0al. \u00a0Use of internet-based mobile phone app messaging services by health workers and managers in LMICs: rapid scoping review of qualitative studies (protocol). 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Health-workers' mobile phone practices and associated political-moral economies of care in Ghana and Malawi","volume":"32","author":"Hampshire","year":"2017","journal-title":"Health Policy Plan"},{"key":"2026071703541091600_ref9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105257","DOI":"10.1016\/j.worlddev.2020.105257","article-title":"Informal mhealth at scale in Africa: opportunities and challenges","volume":"140","author":"Hampshire","year":"2021","journal-title":"World Dev"},{"key":"2026071703541091600_ref10","volume-title":"Constitution of at 1 March 2016. Annexure 1: Scope of Authority","author":"HWSETA","year":"2016"},{"key":"2026071703541091600_ref11","volume-title":"The State of the ICT Sector Report in South Africa. 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