Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (SRH)
Including the Human Reproduction Special Programme (HRP)

Digital interventions and innovations

The field of digital health and its important role in addressing barriers to access and provision of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services has gained traction over the years. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the significance of this area of work. The Department continues its leadership role by generating research on digital health using SRH as an exemplar for other health areas to follow and ensuring SRH specificities are reflected within the broader digital health work of WHO. Furthermore, this work is done as a crosscutting approach across the Department and includes collaborations across several units.

Specifically, this portfolio on digital systems and innovations focuses on the following key areas:

  • transforming WHO guideline recommendations for use in point of care digital systems by health workers and in personal health record tools used by individuals themselves,
  • contributing to practical guidance on emerging digital health topics of relevance for SRHR, and
  • conducting research on innovations that have potential for SRH impact. 

Interactive tools

Publications

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Toolkit and content repository for digital client-facing platforms: family planning
This resource provides reusable content packages derived from WHO evidence-based guidelines to inform client-facing digital tools for family planning,...
Digital transformation handbook for primary health care: optimizing person-centred point of service systems

The “Digital transformation handbook for primary health care: Optimizing person-centred point of service systems” provides stepwise guidance...

The role of artificial intelligence in sexual and reproductive health and rights

This technical brief provides an overview of the landscape surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in sexual and reproductive health and rights...

Journal articles

2025

Agarwal S, Chin WY, Vasudevan L, et al. Digital tracking, provider decision support systems, and targeted client communication via mobile devices to improve primary health care. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2025;4(4):CD012925. Published 2025 Apr 7. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012925.pub2

Nkangu M, Tangang B, Pessa A, et al. Integrating WHO's digital adaptation kit for antenatal care into BornFyne-PNMS: insights from Cameroon. Front Pharmacol. 2025;16:1474999. Published 2025 Mar 26. doi:10.3389/fphar.2025.1474999

2024

Glenton C, Paulsen E, Agarwal S, et al. Healthcare workers' informal uses of mobile phones and other mobile devices to support their work: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024;8(8):CD015705. Published 2024 Aug 27. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD015705.pub2

Tamrat T, Zhao Y, Schalet D, AlSalamah S, Pujari S, Say L. Exploring the Use and Implications of AI in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: Protocol for a Scoping Review. JMIR Res Protoc. 2024;13:e53888. Published 2024 Apr 9. doi:10.2196/53888

2023

Narasimhan M, Duvall S, Tamrat T. Expanding people-centred primary health care with digital adaptation kits for self-care interventions. Lancet Digit Health. 2023;5(10):e643-e645. doi:10.1016/S2589-7500(23)00178-4

Pretty F, Tamrat T, Ratanaprayul N, et al. Experiences in aligning WHO SMART guidelines to classification and terminology standards. BMJ Health Care Inform. 2023;30(1):e100691. doi:10.1136/bmjhci-2022-100691

NAMAI Research Group. New Antenatal Model in Africa and India (NAMAI) study: implementation research to improve antenatal care using WHO recommendations. Health Res Policy Syst. 2023;21(1):82. Published 2023 Aug 10. doi:10.1186/s12961-023-01014-5

Festo C, Vannevel V, Ali H, et al. Accuracy of a smartphone application for blood pressure estimation in Bangladesh, South Africa, and Tanzania. NPJ Digit Med. 2023;6(1):69. Published 2023 Apr 17. doi:10.1038/s41746-023-00804-z

2022

Tamrat T, Chandir S, Alland K, et al. Digitalization of routine health information systems: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan. Bull World Health Organ. 2022;100(10):590-600. doi:10.2471/BLT.22.287816

Tamrat T, Ratanaprayul N, Barreix M, et al. Transitioning to Digital Systems: The Role of World Health Organization's Digital Adaptation Kits in Operationalizing Recommendations and Interoperability Standards. Glob Health Sci Pract. 2022;10(1):e2100320. Published 2022 Feb 28. doi:10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00320

Muliokela R, Uwayezu G, Tran Ngoc C, et al. Integration of new digital antenatal care tools using the WHO SMART guideline approach: Experiences from Rwanda and Zambia. Digit Health. 2022;8:20552076221076256. Published 2022 Feb 2. doi:10.1177/20552076221076256

Gichangi P, Gonsalves L, Mwaisaka J, et al. Busting contraception myths and misconceptions among youth in Kwale County, Kenya: results of a digital health randomised control trial. BMJ Open. 2022;12(1):e047426. Published 2022 Jan 6. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047426

2021

Vasudevan L, Glenton C, Henschke N, et al. Birth and death notification via mobile devices: a mixed methods systematic review. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021;7(7):CD012909. Published 2021 Jul 16. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012909.pub2

Agarwal S, Glenton C, Tamrat T, et al. Decision-support tools via mobile devices to improve quality of care in primary healthcare settings. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021;7(7):CD012944. Published 2021 Jul 27. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012944.pub2

Mehl G, Tunçalp Ö, Ratanaprayul N, et al. WHO SMART guidelines: optimising country-level use of guideline recommendations in the digital age. Lancet Digit Health. 2021;3(4):e213-e216. doi:10.1016/S2589-7500(21)00038-8

2020

Agarwal S, Glenton C, Henschke N, et al. Tracking health commodity inventory and notifying stock levels via mobile devices: a mixed methods systematic review. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;10(10):CD012907. Published 2020 Oct 28. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012907.pub2

Haddad SM, Souza RT, Cecatti JG, et al. Building a Digital Tool for the Adoption of the World Health Organization's Antenatal Care Recommendations: Methodological Intersection of Evidence, Clinical Logic, and Digital Technology [published correction appears in J Med Internet Res. 2020 Oct 13;22(10):e24891. doi: 10.2196/24891]. J Med Internet Res. 2020;22(10):e16355. Published 2020 Oct 1. doi:10.2196/16355

Guerrero F, Lucar N, Garvich Claux M, et al. Developing an SMS text message intervention on sexual and reproductive health with adolescents and youth in Peru. Reprod Health. 2020;17(1):116. Published 2020 Jul 31. doi:10.1186/s12978-020-00943-6

Palmer MJ, Henschke N, Villanueva G, et al. Targeted client communication via mobile devices for improving sexual and reproductive health. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;8(8):CD013680. Published 2020 Jul 14. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013680

2019

Ames HM, Glenton C, Lewin S, Tamrat T, Akama E, Leon N. Clients' perceptions and experiences of targeted digital communication accessible via mobile devices for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;10(10):CD013447. Published 2019 Oct 14. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013447

Gonsalves L, Njeri WW, Schroeder M, Mwaisaka J, Gichangi P. Research and Implementation Lessons Learned From a Youth-Targeted Digital Health Randomized Controlled Trial (the ARMADILLO Study). JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019;7(8):e13005. Published 2019 Sep 27. doi:10.2196/13005

2016

Agarwal S, LeFevre AE, Lee J, et al. Guidelines for reporting of health interventions using mobile phones: mobile health (mHealth) evidence reporting and assessment (mERA) checklist. BMJ. 2016;352:i1174. Published 2016 Mar 17. doi:10.1136/bmj.i1174

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