Reach Digital Health

Utilising communications digital tools to address disparities in health services for at risk communities.

Reach Digital Health is Non-Profit Organisation that uses digital tools to address disparities in health services by connecting people, especially those unable to access traditional medical care to health services. By integrating personalised digital communication tools into government healthcare services, Reach helps bridge the gap by providing crucial health information and services to underserved communities, such as maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS support, immunisation, and more.

Reach is partnering with Ipas South Africa – a Non-Governmental Organisation that works to increase women’s access to safe, high-quality abortion. They will both implement an evidence based Chatbot intervention known as ChattyCuz, a promising modality for directly engaging girls and young women via WhatsApp, a space they consider accessible, acceptable and private. They will deliver a carefully scripted, pre-tested chatbot to equip young women with skills for identifying harmful behaviors in dating relationships; encourages them to seek the social and institutional support they desire; builds self-efficacy and agency to make their own choices; and fosters equitable gender norms and beliefs. It also enables timely connections to psychosocial support when early signs of abuse manifest. Among older adolescents (aged 18-24), this chatbot reduced past month violence exposure three months after use.