Digital Pulse - Ch 3 - Sec 4 - Satellife's PDA Health Information Project

Development Issues: Health, HIV/AIDS, Technology

Programme Summary

Lack of information on treatments and disease management exacerbates health care problems like HIV/AIDS in Africa. Many students and physicians do not own a textbook during their medical education and training. They may not be aware of the fact that they are lacking clinical guidelines on HIV/AIDS, for example, that are critical in diagnosis and treatment.

The developing world still represents a high-risk area for high tech companies. As a demonstration of the viability and usefulness of a relatively new technology in Africa, this project hopes to stimulate a new market and provide incentives to the corporate sector to develop relevant tools at an affordable price for Africans users.

The Health Information Project utilised hand-held computers, also called personal digital assistants (PDAs), to help medical personnel in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda gain access to accurate and up-to-date information. This technology was also intended to help health professionals conduct surveys and analyse data more efficiently. The purpose of the project was to test the efficacy of PDAs in the African medical context, and was conducted in two phases.

Summary of ICT Initiatives

In the first phase of the project, SATELLIFE provided the American Red Cross (ARC) with PDAs to be used for conducting field surveys in conjunction with a measles immunization program in Ghana in December 2001. Use of PDAs enabled volunteers to gather and submit data electronically, simplifying and speeding up the process. Thirty Ghanaian Red Cross volunteers were trained in the use of PDAs over a two-day period. They were able to complete over 2,400 surveys in three days (the traditional paper-and-pen survey method would have yielded 200 surveys). Survey data were processed, analysed, and reported quickly.

Phase two was conducted in Kenya and Uganda in March 2002. SATELLIFE loaded 80 PDAs with medical reference materials (several textbooks; HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria guidelines and drug lists specific to Kenya and Uganda; and a medical calculator) and a short survey on Malaria. The PDAs were shipped to Moi and Makerere University Medical Schools where they were distributed to sixth-year medical students and physicians.

Observations

The Health Information Project will be a demonstration of the viability and usefulness of the personal digital assistant (PDA), a relatively new technology in Africa. A positive conclusion to the project may facilitate the use of wireless technology for sustainable development in health and in other fields, such as agriculture and environmental health. A myriad of potential possibilities for PDA use exist, including record keeping, database management, and communication.

In December of 2002, Bridges.org was contracted to provide an independent evaluation to explore how the technology impacted the behaviour of health professionals and the quality of care they delivered. Their Report, published in February 2003 presented the following conclusions:

“The main finding of this evaluation is that the SATELLIFE project in Ghana, Uganda and Kenya has validated the use of handheld computers in healthcare environments in Africa. There were a number of valuable lessons gleaned from the project that can be applied to further deployment of PDAs in developing countries. A number of obstacles to technology use have also been identified, which will need to be overcome in order to promote the widespread adoption of the technology in this context. Finally, the project has served to open the door for a number of opportunities that are worthy of the attention of technology companies and content providers.”

Some of their Key findings of the evaluation included:

• The handheld computers proved to be an effective tool for both the collection of health data and the dissemination of information.
• The handheld computers proved to be an appropriate technology for use in the African context.
• Handheld computers proved to be an inexpensive alternative to PCs in terms of computer power per dollar.
• The handheld computers proved to be simple to use, and the technology was easily integrated into the daily routines of the healthcare professionals.
• Handheld computers offer enormous potential to help bridge the digital divide.

Some of the Key lessons learned in this project included:

• People require at least some basic training in order to use the handheld computer effectively overall.
• More focused training is needed to train people how to use the handheld computer for data collection, not just for the technology users, but also for those who are managing the project.
• Technical support is critical.
• Content must be locally relevant to have the greatest impact.

Challenges that must be overcome

• Despite the affordability by comparison to PCs, the cost of the PDAs may still be too high for the average person in Africa.
• More locally relevant content in electronic format is needed to foster the widespread use of handheld computers for healthcare in developing countries.
• Broader ICT infrastructure is needed to support the widespread use of handheld computers in Africa in the long-term (including access to repair facilities).

The report also provided a summary of valuable future opportunities that emerged from this project.

Partners: SATELLIFE, the Acumen Fund, ARC, Skyscape, Moi University (Kenya), Cisco Foundation

Source: The Health Information Project website and Bridges.org

For More Information Contact:

Amy Galblumagalblum@usa.healthnet.org

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