Local by design: users’ preferences and acceptability for dotoh primary care and reproductive health digital health platform advancing equity inclusion and sustainability
1
International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, United States
2
DOTOH, Littoral - Cotonou, Benin
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
populations in benin living in rural settings lack access to primary care and sexual and reproductive health (srh) services. Clinics are often hours away, services are overstretched, health care costs are high and out-of-pocket, one in five adolescent girls has had a child or is pregnant (Ahissou et al., 2022), and only 12% of women use modern contraception (Budu et al., 2023). Many digital solutions remain inaccessible to low-literacy populations.
METHODS:
formative research and in-depth interviews with over 40 stakeholders, including healthcare providers, government officials, and ngo representatives, across Ouidah, Cotonou, Aplahoue and Djougou, guided dotoh’s design. Prototype testing engaged 17 youth innovators through the jeunes leaders pour l’innovation en santé initiative. guided by social marketing 4ps (product, price, place, promotion) and implementation science principles, data collection explored content, feature, and format preferences for digital health delivery. Quantitative and qualitative insights were triangulated to optimize usability, accessibility, and relevance.
RESULTS:
all participants (100%) reported improved health knowledge. Participants (100%) agreed dotoh meets their needs, with an average user experience rating of 8.5/10. Most valued features included appointment booking, teleconsultation, health information and counseling, updated health content, and gps mapping. Key strengths highlighted were innovation, ease of appointment booking, youth-friendly design, and specialized health coverage. Recommendations included enhancing service descriptions, improving accessibility for people with disabilities, expanding ios deployment, and adding tailored content. Findings demonstrate user prioritization of confidential primary care, GBV support, SRH services, and contraceptive access, alongside multi-channel accessibility for low-literacy and low-connectivity populations.
CONCLUSIONS:
Dotoh, benin’s first teleconsultation platform, demonstrates a scalable, user-centered model delivering equitable, inclusive, sustainable digital health services. Formative evidence supports potential integration into national primary health systems and adaptation for diverse populations. Prioritizing local co-creation, multi-channel access, and youth-friendly design, can strengthen digital health interventions, advance health equity, and support sustainable health outcomes.
populations in benin living in rural settings lack access to primary care and sexual and reproductive health (srh) services. Clinics are often hours away, services are overstretched, health care costs are high and out-of-pocket, one in five adolescent girls has had a child or is pregnant (Ahissou et al., 2022), and only 12% of women use modern contraception (Budu et al., 2023). Many digital solutions remain inaccessible to low-literacy populations.
METHODS:
formative research and in-depth interviews with over 40 stakeholders, including healthcare providers, government officials, and ngo representatives, across Ouidah, Cotonou, Aplahoue and Djougou, guided dotoh’s design. Prototype testing engaged 17 youth innovators through the jeunes leaders pour l’innovation en santé initiative. guided by social marketing 4ps (product, price, place, promotion) and implementation science principles, data collection explored content, feature, and format preferences for digital health delivery. Quantitative and qualitative insights were triangulated to optimize usability, accessibility, and relevance.
RESULTS:
all participants (100%) reported improved health knowledge. Participants (100%) agreed dotoh meets their needs, with an average user experience rating of 8.5/10. Most valued features included appointment booking, teleconsultation, health information and counseling, updated health content, and gps mapping. Key strengths highlighted were innovation, ease of appointment booking, youth-friendly design, and specialized health coverage. Recommendations included enhancing service descriptions, improving accessibility for people with disabilities, expanding ios deployment, and adding tailored content. Findings demonstrate user prioritization of confidential primary care, GBV support, SRH services, and contraceptive access, alongside multi-channel accessibility for low-literacy and low-connectivity populations.
CONCLUSIONS:
Dotoh, benin’s first teleconsultation platform, demonstrates a scalable, user-centered model delivering equitable, inclusive, sustainable digital health services. Formative evidence supports potential integration into national primary health systems and adaptation for diverse populations. Prioritizing local co-creation, multi-channel access, and youth-friendly design, can strengthen digital health interventions, advance health equity, and support sustainable health outcomes.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
