Design of mobile health tools for assessment of health and nutritional status in children

Abstract

Introduction and Motivation: In India, more than 700,000 accredited social health activists (ASHAs) are women selected and trained to work between members of their communities and the public health system. In spite of much advancement in screening tools and best practices in the healthcare system to date, service for members of the bottom of the pyramid remains largely unchanged. ASHA workers need user friendly tools and job aids that would enable them to -- Conduct health-care screenings and consultations -- Educating communities on basic health-care practices -- Confidence to advise medical referrals for patients. Most of the existing solutions designed and deployed in the field ignore issues like context of rural/urban settings (language, living conditions), digital illiteracy, and portability. Proposed Solution: Mobile Kit for Assessment of Child Health and Nutrition In order to address the problem described above, the Mobile Technology Group, headed by Dr. Fletcher, is developing a smart phone based kit that will assist with the basic tasks that an ASHA health worker is required to perform. These measurements include: -- Baby's weight -- Baby's height -- Baby's thermal regulation (which is an indicator of health) -- Baby's cardiovascular health (heart rate, pulse oximetry) - Middle Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC), which is an indicator of the nutritional status. The electronics and computer software for these tools is being implemented by another graduate student, Xavier Soriano. However, I am responsible for the product design, interaction design, and evaluation of the technology. Primary Research Objectives: 1. To help design the non-invasive mobile based tools for assessing and health and nutritional status of children under 5 years to be used by community health workers in urban poor settlements of India 2. To test, evaluate and assess the ease of use of these tools by community health workers