Glossary of Terms
mHEALTH ALLIANCE GLOSSARY
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3G or 3rd Generation: A generation of standards for mobile phones. It has a variety of services including voice telephone, mobile internet access, video calls, and mobile TV.
4G or 4th Generation: The fourth generation of mobile phone technology.
7th International NeoNatal Nurses Conferences 2010: An annual conference that brings together experts in delivery and neonatal care which will be held at the international convention centre in Durban, South Africa in October 2010.
13th International Congress on Medical Informatics 2010: An annual congress that brings together experts in healthcare delivery and health information systems which will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from the 12 - 15 of September 2010.
29th International Confederation of Midwives Triennial Conference 2011: A conference that brings together the International Confederation of Midwives along with experts in neonatal care and midwifery. This event will be held in Durban, South Africa from the 19-23 of June 2011.
A
ANFAS: This project is developing tools to help decision makers make decisions related to flood prevention and protection and evaluate appropriate reaction with regards to evacuation, reinforcement of dikes etc.
APIs (Application Programming Interface): Refers to an interface that allows for interaction between different software programs. This is much like an interface that allows interaction between humans and computers.
ARVs (Antiretroviral medication): Used to treat those infected with retroviruses, primarily HIV.
Authentication: The act of confirming that the subject or subject matter is true.
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Bandwidth: A measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bit(s) or multiples of it (kbit, Mbit, etc). Many applications designed for developing countries are too heavy for the limited bandwidth in those countries. Specialized applications often need to be developed to thrive in these low bandwidth environments.
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation): This company is the largest broadcasting organization in the world. It is a public service broadcaster and is paid for by UK households.
BRAC (Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee): This organization works with people whose lives are dominated by extreme poverty, illiteracy, disease and other handicaps. They are committed to equitable resources and services across communities.
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CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access): Any of several protocols used in second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) wireless communications, which allows numerous signals to occupy a single transmission channel, optimizing the use of available bandwidth.
Cloud computing: Defines the delivery of hosted services via the internet. For example, software, infrastructure or platforms can be sold to users when in demand.
COINN (Council of International Neonatal Nurses): An organization that represents nurses who specialize in the care of newborn infants and their families or have a special interest in the area of nursing.
Continuum of care: Refers to the stages of maternal and newborn health care from pre-pregnancy through the first day of the infant’s life.
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DAC (Development Assistance Committee): A forum of selected member states that discuss issues surrounding aid, development, and poverty reduction in developing countries. There are currently 24 members who include the U.S. and the European Commission. The World Bank, the IMF and UNDP also participate as observers.
Data Packet: A method for transferring data by dividing it into smaller blocks. The advantage of data packets is that a user utilizes limited network resources when transferring data (this differs from “circuit-switch data” which must have an open connection and uses resources even when idle.) Today most data on the internet and cellphone networks travel in data packets.
Decision support systems: Constitute a class of computer-based information systems including knowledge-based systems that support decision-making activities.
DFID (Department for International Development): Part of the UK government that manages Britain’s aid to poor countries and works towards eliminating extreme poverty and the other MDGs (Millennium Development Goals).
DHI (Danish Hydraulic Institute): An independent, international consulting and research organization committed to advancing technological development, governance and competence in the fields of water, environment and health.
Digital ID/Identity: An electronic certificate that verifies the authentication of a web site, individuals, or software developers. This ID is used to prove who you are on the internet.
Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force): An international collaboration of governments, private sector, non-profit organizations and international organizations from developed and developing countries. Their goal is to identify the ways in which the digital revolutions can benefit people around the world, especially the poorest and most marginalized.
E
Ecosystem: In mobile technology, refers to all technologies, sources and software systems used for telecommunications.
Effectiveness Research: Refers to research that focuses upon the impact and effectiveness of interventions or campaigns.
eHealth: Health care practice supported by electronic processes and communication technologies such as computers, mobile phones, and satellites.
EHR (Electronic Health Record): A systematic collection of electronic health information on individuals or populations. It allows for global connection to massive amounts of medical data for research and patient care.
eMR/eHR: Refers to Electronic Medical Records and Electronic Health Records
Enterprise Architecture: A rigorous description of an enterprise including a map of relationships between its systems and subsystems
ENTO (European Telecom Network Operators Association): ENTO is a policy group for European communications network operators. Their goal is to encourage dialogue between those involved in the development of the European Information Society.
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Feature Phone: A low-end mobile phone that has less computing ability than a smartphone.
FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics): An organization that brings together professional societies of obstetricians and gynecologists on a global basis.
FNIH (Foundation for the National Institutes of Health): An independent non-profit organization created to support the mission of the National Institutes of Health.
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GDP: The Gross Domestic Product is a country’s overall economic output and is measured by the market value of all the final goods and services produced by a country in a given year.
GICT (Global Information and Communications Technologies): A joint department of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)that promotes access to information and communication technologies in developing countries.
GIS (Geographic Information Systems): This is any system that computes, stores, analyzes and presents geographically referenced data. GISs allow analysis of epidemiological data in relation to population settlements, health services, and the environment. Some applications include urban planning, natural resource management and emergency management.
GNP (Gross National Product): This is the market value of goods and services produced in one year by the labor and property of all nationals of a given country. It is supposed to reflect the average income of a nation’s citizens.
GPOBA (Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid): This partnership of donors and international organizations works together to promote output-based aid (OBA) approaches.
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service): Used by GSM mobile phones to transmit IP packets.
GPS (Global Positioning System): Global navigation satellite system that provides positioning, navigation, and timing information.
Grameen Bank: A microfinance organization and community development bank started in Bangladesh by Muhammad Yunus. The bank makes small loans to impoverished people without requiring collateral, and a significant majority of the borrowers are women.
GSMA (Global Systems for Mobile Communications Association): Represents the world mobile communications interests
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications): This system is the world’s most popular for mobile phone technology, largely in Europe and Asia. It allows for international roaming arrangements between mobile carriers and enables phone usage around the world.
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HDI (Human Development Index): This index measures the level of human development in a given country. It is composed from data on life expectancy, education, and per capita GDP.
Health 2.0: A showcase and conference of most recent technological advances to provide health care services around the world.
HIS (Health Information System) or HMIS (Health Management Information System): A computer system capable of storing, analyzing, and displaying health data.
HUB (Health UnBound): An online meeting place and community for those who care about transforming health systems to improve health outcomes, especially in low and middle-income countries. HUB aggregates health content, facilitates idea exchange, and creates community between the diverse constituencies that can benefit from, and improve access to, health information and care.
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IAM (Itissalat-al-Maghrib): This Morocco-based company primarily provides telecommunication services.
IAM (International Alliance of Midwives): An organization that brings together midwifes and those interested in midwifery around the world.
ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies): A set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information.
ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development): Refers to the application of Information and Communication Technologies for socioeconomic development.
IFC (International Finance Corporation): This corporation is a member of the World Bank Group. Their goal is to build the private sector in developing countries by financing private sector investments, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to both businesses and governments.
infoDev (Information for Development Program): This global development financing program was founded and largely supported by the World Bank. It promotes dialogue and coordinates joint action among bilateral and multilateral donors by supporting global sharing of information on ICT for development and helps to reduce duplication of efforts and investment.
International Confederation of Midwives Triennial Conference 2011: A conference that brings together the International Confederation of Midwives along with experts in neonatal care and midwifery.
IT (Information Technology): This is the study, development, implementation and management of computer-based information systems. It particularly refers to networks, hardware, software, and the internet.
ITU (International Telecommunication Union): This is the United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues. ITU has coordinated the global use of the radio spectrum, promoted international assignment of satellite orbits, worked to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, established standards for the interconnection of a range of communication systems and addressed other pressing issues such as climate change and cybersecurity.
IVR (Interactive Voice Response): A software application that accepts a combination of voice telephone input and touch-tone keypad selection.
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Java: Programming language and computing platform that is used by several applications online. This platform allows for interactive games, videos, demos, etc to appear on your web browser.
Java-enabled: A device of program that is able to use Java, a general purpose, concurrent, class-based, and object-oriented intended to let application developers “write once, run anywhere.” Java was created with the intention of allowing programs to run similarly on any supported hardware/operating-system platform.
JavaRosa: An open source platform for data collection on mobile devices. At its core, JavaRosa is based on the XForms standard – the official W3C standard for next-generation data collection and interchange. It is written in Java Mobile Edition (J2ME), and supports a wide array of devices, from top-end smartphones and large PDAs with large screens and abundant memory, to low-end devices like Nokia 6085 and 2630, making JavaRosa usable in low-resource environments.
Jembi: A not for profit organization focused on furthering Computer/IT based healthcare solutions for the developing world.
JHPSH (Johns Hopkins Public School of Health): This school located in Maryland is dedicated to the improvement of health and prevention of disease and disability around the world.
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L
LAN (Local Area Network): A computer network known for its high data-transfer rates, smaller geographic areas, and lack of a need for leased telecommunication lines.
LTE (Long Term Evolution): A new radio platform technology that provides an extremely high performance radio-access technology
M
M4D (Mobile Communication for Development): Refers to using mobile technologies for socioeconomic development.
MDGs (Millennium Development Goals): In 2000 world leaders came together at the United Nations and committed themselves to a set of eight targets to be achieved by 2015. These goals in include global improvements to extreme poverty and hunger, universal education, gender equality, child health, maternal health, the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases, environmental sustainability, and the creation of a global partnership to address these issues.
Medical Informatics (or Health Informatics): Refers to the intersection of information science, computer science and health care.
mHA (Mobile Health Alliance): This alliance brings together organizations working for mobile health around the world such as, the Rockefeller Foundation, Vodafone and United Nations Foundation.
mHealth (mobile health): The practice of medical and public health through the usage of mobile devices. This commonly refers to using PDAs and mobile phones for health services, data collection, treatment support, and information dissemination.
mHI (Mobile Health Initiative Inc.): A not-for-profit organization incorporated in Massachusetts, USA, working toward utilizing mobile devices for the improvement of health systems around the world.
MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency): MIGA is a member of the World Bank Group and promotes foreign direct investment (FDI) to developing countries to support economic development, reduce poverty, and improve people’s lives. It does this by providing political risk insurance (guarantees) to the private sector.
mMoney: Refers to mobile money that may be sent from one location to another. Usually, money is sent from urban areas to rural areas.
MMS (Multimedia Message Service): A technology that allows users to exchange images, audio, text, and video (or a combination thereof) using mobile devices.
MNH: Refers to Maternal and Newborn Health.
MMI(Maternal mHealth Initiative): This initiative seeks to unite information and communications technologies, especially mobile, with the expertise of maternal, newborn and child health practitioners in order to reduce maternal and infant mortality in improve health.
MobileActive: An interface that connects people, organizations, and resources using mobile technology for social change.
Mobile Asia Congress: An annual event provides mobile industry executives from across Asia and the world an opportunity to meet, discuss and debate industry trends and issues, while networking with peers, partners and prospects. Hosted by GSMA <see G>, this year’s event 17-18 November at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Mobile broadband: Describes a variety of portable devices which gains access to the internet through wireless high speed, portals or other devices.
Mobile World Congress: An annual exhibition for the mobile industry. GSMA <see G> convenes this congress featuring prominent C-level executives representing mobile operators, vendors and content owners from around the world. This year’s event will be held in Barcelona, February 14th-17th 2011.
Monitoring and evaluation: Refers to processes of monitoring a program and evaluating the impact it has on the target population in order to assess the success and gaps in program implementation.
mPulse: An eNewsletter of the mHealth Alliance.
mServices: Services, such as transactions, communications, information dispersion and data collection, completed through mobile devices and technologies.
mTransactions: Refers to monetary transactions made via mobile devices.
N
Neo-natal: Of or relating to a newborn, especially during the first month after birth
NGO (Non-governmental organization): An organization that operates independently from any government. The term is usually only applied to organizations that pursue wider social aims and have political aspects but are not overtly political organizations such as political parties.
NIE (Newly Industrialized Countries): A country whose industrialization has reached a level beyond that of a developing country. Examples include Mexico and Malaysia.
NIH (National Institutes of Health): A medical research center a part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
O
OBA (Output-based aid): Refers to development aid strategies that link public services in developing countries to performance-related subsidies. For example, OBA subsidies are provided for transport construction, education, water and sanitation systems, and health care among other sectors.
ODK (Open Data Kit): A suite of tools to help organizations collect, aggregate, and visualize their data. The ODK aims to create open source and standards-based tools which are easy to try, implement, modify, and scale. They are used all over the world, and ODK Collect is the most popular.
OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development): An international economic organization of 32 countries committed to democracy and market economy. They compare policy experience, try to find answers to common problems, identify good practices, and co-ordinate domestic and international policies.
Open MRS: A community-developed, open-source, enterprise electronic medical record system platform. They target those managing and building health systems for the developing world.
Open Source: Can refer to computer software sources that are publicly available. Generally, open source refers to when the means to an end-product is open to all users.
OSS (Open Source Software): Computer software for which the source code is not protected by copyright and is freely available and modifiable by the public.
Open Standards: A technology that is publicly available and is often maintained and approved by collaborative forces as opposed to a single vendor
P
PEPFAR (The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief): This organization is focused on establishing and scaling up prevention, care, and treatment programs.
PHC (Primary Health Center): A basic but functional unit of public health services in developing countries. They provide accessible, affordable, and available primary health care. PHCs generally consist of one or more doctors, a pharmacist, staff nurse, and other health care workers.
Pilot version: A trial version of a concept before large-scale production to test for possible inefficiencies and flaws.
PMNCH (Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health): A partnership of all maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) communities. They work to ensure our women and children remain healthy.
Point interventions/solutions: These are interventions at specific places in a physical or conceptual system meant to bridge a specific gap or overcome a barrier.
PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility): Their goal is to promote private sector participation in emerging markets by providing technical assistance to governments to enable the creation of sound environments for private provision of services.
Protocols: A set of guidelines or rules.
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Registry: A directory of academic, commercial or proprietary software with specifications and licensing terms.
RESCUER (Rural Extended Services & Care for Ultimate Emergency Relief): This program was designed to address the high maternal mortality rate in Uganda.
Rich media (or Interactive Media): Describes a broad range of digital interactive media. Rich media can be downloadable or may be embedded in a webpage and is characterized by dynamic motion
Rockefeller Foundation: A philanthropic foundation that operates both within the United States and around the world to strengthen resilience to social, economic, health, and environmental challenges.
ROI (Return on Investment): A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments.
RPM (Remote Patient Monitoring): The use of electronic information and communication technologies by healthcare providers to collect and monitor data from patients remotely.
S
SAMRC (South African Medical Research Council): A health research council committed to promoting the improvement of the health and quality of life of the population of South Africa through research, development and technology transfer.
SANA: A multidisciplinary group from MIT which offers an open source platform that enables healthcare workers to perform clinical assessments including audio, image, text and location-based data on mobilize phones and then connect to electronic medical records.
Scalability: A property of a system, a network, or a process, which indicates its ability to either handle growing amounts of work in a graceful manner or to be readily enlarged.
Security: The concept that information online must be protected from viruses and from those who wish to violate the privacy of personal information.
Server: A program that stores data and responds to requests from other programs, usually clients. When a server, like Gmail, receives a request for data from a client, like Microsoft Outlook, Gmail sends the data in the form of the emails you receive in your Inbox. Additionally, a computer that primarily runs server software is often referred to as a server itself.
SIDS (Small Island Developing States): Are low-lying coastal countries that share similar sustainable development challenges, including small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, vulnerability to external shocks, excessive dependence on international trade, and fragile environments.
SIM card (subscriber identity module): A micro-chip that stores the service-subscriber key used to identify a subscriber on mobile devices. The SIM card holds personal information such as names and phone numbers. Multiple SIM cards can be used in a single phone (although not concurrently).
Smartphone: A mobile phone with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a feature phone. They often have powerful processors, abundant memory and larger screens and are thought of as handheld computers.
SMS (Short Messaging Service): Text message communication on phones and mobile phones. It allows the exchange of a short (less than 160 characters) message between mobile devices.
Sustainability: The capacity to endure or continue in the current state.
T
TBA (Traditional Birth Attendant): Also known as traditional midwifes (TMs) is a primary pregnancy and childbirth care provider. They provide most of the maternity care in developing countries. Many TBAs work in rural areas that can be a considerable distance from formal health care facilities.
Telehealth/telemedicine: Delivery of health related services and medical information via communication technologies.
Telepresence: Refers to using technology in such a manner that it appears, feels like, or gives the impression that the person is actually present, when he or she is actually at a remote location.
Testbed: A platform for experimentation of large development projects. Test beds allow for rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies.
Trial: The act of testing something before putting it to practical use on a large scale.
U
UN (United Nations): An international organization founded after World War II committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.
UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS): This UN program advocates for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action against the HIV epidemic. Their goals include preventing the transmission of HIV, providing care and support for those already infected with the virus, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV, and alleviating the impact of the virus.
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme): UN’s global development network. They work with countries on solutions to global and national development challenges. They coordinate global and national efforts to achieve the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals). Their focus is on democratic governance, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, environment and energy, and HIV/AIDS.
UNFIP (United Nations Office for Partnerships): Responsible for administering and developing partnerships between UN agencies, departments, and programs and the private sector. UNFIP facilitates the UN’s work with the United Nations Foundation.
UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund): An international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. The UNFPA assists countries by using population data for policies and programs to reduce poverty, ensure every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, people are free from HIV, and girls and women are treated with dignity and respect.
United Nations System: This network of international organizations, treaties and conventions were created by the United Nations.
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund): Established after World War II to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by the war. Later, it became a permanent part of the United Nations System and provides long-term humanitarian and development assistance to children and mothers in developing countries.
USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development): The United States federal government agency responsible for civilian foreign aid. It is the principle agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engage in democratic reforms.
USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data): A synchronous protocol of all GSM networks and handsets. It is associated with real-time instant messaging via phones. There is no store-and-forward capability, as is typical of other short message protocols. Response times for interactive USSD-based services are generally quicker than those used for SMS.
V
Value Chain: A chain of activities for a firm operating in a specific industry.
Value Stack: Refers to the order in which actions occur in a particular process and the value said actions have.
Vodafone: A mobile telecommunications company that has a presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, and the United States.
Voice SMS: Allows users to send SMS messages by voice. The sender dials a command (usually “*”), then a mobile number to record and send a voice SMS. The recipient receives a regular text SMS notifying them of their voice SMS, which they can listen to.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol): A technology that allows you to make calls using a broadband internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. Some VoIP services only allow calls to people using the same service, but other services may allow calls to anyone who has a telephone number- including local, long distance, mobile, and internet numbers. Also, while some VoIP services only work over a computer or special VoIP phone, other services allow the use of traditional phones connected to a VoIP adapter.
W
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol): An open international standard for application-layer network communications in a wireless communications environment. Most uses of WAP involve accessing the Web from a mobile phone.
Web4D (Web for Development): Refers to utilizing the internet and web technologies for socioeconomic development.
WHO (World Health Organization): The public health arm of the United Nations. It provides leadership on global health matters, shapes the health research agenda, sets norms and standards, articulates evidence-based policy options, provides technical support to countries, and monitors and assesses health trends.
Widgets: Short for “window gadget”, refers to an element of a graphical interface that the user can interact with by adding or deleting text or opening and closing the window
World Bank Group: Provides low-interest loans, interest-free credits and grants to developing countries in an effort to fight poverty. Their financial and technical assistance includes investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management.
World Vision: A non-profit, Christian NGO that address the needs of the world’s poorest children and families living in nearly 100 countries, including the United States.
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