Fig 1. Conceptual model for how the mCME intervention was hypothesized to work to improve medical knowledge.

The figure outlines our model for the mCME intervention. The figure outlines two pathways that could lead to our desired output: improvement on the endline exam score. The first is learning from the information within the SMS messages themselves (the weak pathway). However, these are very brief, cover each topic superficially, and so would not be expected to have much effect per se. Rather, the SMS was hoped to serve as a stimulus promoting increased self-study on the same thematic areas as addressed in the messages through lateral learning (the strong pathway).