02070nas a2200229   4500000000100000008004100001260002300042653005700065653003000122100001400152700002200166700001900188700001200207700001300219700001500232700001600247245011400263856009800377300000900475520133100484022002501815       2021                            d  bInforma UK Limited10aPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health10aUniversal health coverage1 aMariwah S1 aMachistey Abane A1 aAsiedu Owusu S1 aKasim A1 aRobson E1 aCastelli M1 aHampshire K00aFormalising ‘informal’ mHealth in Ghana: Opportunities and challenges for Universal Health Coverage (UHC)  uhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2021.1874467?scroll=top&needAccess=true  a1-143 aWhile mobile phones promise to be an important tool for bridging the healthcare gaps in resource-poor areas in developing countries, scalability and sustainability of mobile phones for health (mhealth) interventions still remain a major challenge. Meanwhile, health workers are already using their own mobile phones (referred to as ‘informal mhealth’) to facilitate healthcare delivery in diverse ways. Therefore, this paper explores some strategies for integrating ‘informal mHealth’ in the healthcare delivery of Ghana, by highlighting some opportunities and challenges. The study mainly employed a combination of literature review, focus group discussions and key informant interviews with community health nurses (CHNs) and other stakeholders, who were purposively selected from the three ecological zones in Ghana. The study found that, while scale-up of ‘formal mhealth’ remains challenging in Ghana, almost all CHNs in our study are using their personal mobile phones ‘informally’ to bridge healthcare gaps, thereby promoting universal health coverage. This provides opportunities for promoting (or formalising) ‘informal’ mhealth in Ghana, in spite of some practical challenges in the use of personal mobile phones that need to be addressed to ensure sustainable healthcare delivery in the country.  a1744-1692, 1744-1706