Every day about 810 pregnant women or women who recently have given birth die worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. If these women had access to the right information and care, many unnecessary deaths could be prevented. This is exactly what the digital platform and app Together for Her was created for: to improve care for pregnant women in India and support them in adopting a healthy lifestyle. The Rotterdam Global Health Initiative of Erasmus University Rotterdam is evaluating the effectiveness of this app.
Together for Her by Avegen provides pregnant women in India with the information and support they need during their pregnancy, labour and postpartum period. This is done through a digital platform and an app, where the information is tailored to the pregnancy phase and the woman's health condition. "This way she not only gets reliable information, but also information that is relevant to her specifically, so she can make the best decision during the pregnancy at that time," says Sumiti Saharan, programme director Together for Her.
Behavioral change
"Our evaluation shows that Together for Her leads to a significant increase in knowledge about healthy behaviours and that it actually leads to behavioural change," said Igna Bonfrer, assistant professor of Health Economics and director of the Rotterdam Global Health Initiative (RGHI).
"However, we also found room for improvement. The information on breastfeeding, for example, could be strengthened. This makes this collaboration a great example of the RGHI network's many research and teaching activities on health systems, inequalities and social determinants of health in low- and middle-income countries."
Exceptional partner
"I think we have found an exceptional partner in Erasmus University because as a team they have enormous experience in measuring the impact of health interventions," Sumiti Saharan said about the collaboration.
Want to know more about how the Rotterdam Health Initiative is working with partners in India on Together for Her? Then watch the video below in which researcher Charlotte Dieteren also talks about how she does research on site to improve Together for Her.
Working together for the health of pregnant women in India with Together for Her
- More information
The Rotterdam Global Health Initiative (RGHI) is the multidisciplinary global health research and education network of Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus School of Economics and Erasmus MC. Through our research and education, we aim to help reduce health inequalities between and within countries, improve people's living conditions and contribute to more effective and equitable quality health care worldwide.
RGHI partners with the City of Rotterdam and the Municipal Health Council of Rotterdam (GGD), with four international NGOs (Cordaid, KNCV TB Foundation, HealthNet TPO and AMREF). RGHI also collaborates on scientific research  with the Institute of Housing and Urban Development Studies.
- Related links
- Together for Her
Rotterdam Global Health Initiative
The future of health care
Avegen Health
Erasmus Trustfund - financier of the Rotterdam Global Health Initiative
KNAW Ter Meulen Beurs - financier of the reasearch project by Charlotte Dieteren