Navigating sociocultural tensions in prenatal care: opportunities for digital health from diverse stakeholders in Techiman, Ghana

Dsane-Nsor, Sarah, Gautam, Aakash, Fuentes Toro, Carolina ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0871-939X, Kwesi Toffah, Gideon, Verdezoto Dias, Nervo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5006-4262, Joolay, Yaseen and Densmore, Melissa 2025. Navigating sociocultural tensions in prenatal care: opportunities for digital health from diverse stakeholders in Techiman, Ghana. Presented at: ECSCW2025, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 30 June - 4 July 2025. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Pregnant women in the Global South face significant challenges due to lack of resources and informational gaps. In this paper, we take an assets-based lens to examine the experiences of pregnant women in a low-resource setting in Ghana, focusing on the role of information and technology in prenatal care. Through interviews and co-design workshops, we illuminate the perspectives of multiple stakeholders including pregnant women, their family members, and health professionals. We highlight the complexities involved in making decisions during pregnancy including the challenges arising from the tension between traditional healthcare practices and modern Western health services. We discuss opportunities in digital maternal health where we argue for the importance of attending to local needs and values and advocate for recognising community strengths and integrating rural care practices as valuable assets in prenatal intervention design. Our work aims to bridge some of the gaps between the theoretical understanding of digital health and the practical realities of prenatal care in low-resource settings.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Computer Science & Informatics
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 March 2025
Date of Acceptance:	11 December 2024
Last Modified:	20 Mar 2025 12:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/176852

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