ORIGINAL TITLE : mSakhi
ORGANIZATION : National Health Mission, Uttar Pradesh
COUNTRY : India
CONTACT : gbora@intrahealth.org
LANGUAGE : Hindi
WEBSITE : www.upnrhm.gov.inwww.intrahealth.org
DOWNLOAD THE APP : N/A
Mobile app making life easier for ASHAs in UP

Launched in June, 2011, mSakhi is an interactive, GPRS/3G-enabled, smart phone-based application using an open-source android platform designed specifically for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) – a cadre of frontline health workers (FLW)  instituted by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)- and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs).

The application supports ASHAs who are largely low-literate village women to perform their day-to-day tasks and overcome the multiple barriers they face in using current paper-based ASHA job aids such as text-heavy reference materials, bulky counselling flipbooks and complex newborn care checklists that are not suitable for them.

The key features and functionalities of the mobile app are:

• Self-learning modules/quiz on RMNCH
• Beneficiary registration and tracking of services across RMNCH
• Automated home visit schedulers & reminders
• Beneficiary counselling across RMNCH
• Step-by-step decision support algorithms for HBNC, including auto-categorization of sick newborns
• Automated real-time data/alerts to supervisors (ANM, Medical Officer)
• Voice-guided vernacular messages, illustrations, videos
• Easily accessible on-the-go content
• Seamless data exchange between ASHAs, ANMs, and cloud-based server
• Web-based dashboard, reports

mSakhi harnesses the power of mobile technology and the near ubiquity of mobile phones to support frontline health workers in their work.  It has been developed in consultation with the Government of Uttar Pradhesh.

mSakhi uses SMS to communicate with the central repository and can be used even in the most basic telephony infrastructure. It can also be integrated with existing government health information systems. The application suite has separate applications for ASHAs, and ANMs (ASHA supervisors) and a web-portal to keep supervisors and program managers informed of key indicators to track health worker performance on real time basis.

Two studies have been conducted to test the feasibility and effectiveness of mSakhi as a self-learning and counselling tool. Based on the feedback, a GoUP evaluation team has recommended it for state wide scale-up.

ORIGINAL TITLE : Arogya Sakhi
ORGANIZATION : Swayam Shikshan Prayog
COUNTRY : India
CONTACT : sspindia1@gmail.com
LANGUAGE : English, Marathi
WEBSITE : www.sspindia.org
DOWNLOAD THE APP : N/A

Mobile app helps delivery of preventive health care, diagnostics

Arogya Sakhis are women selected from villages who are provided with tablets and mobile diagnostic equipment (HB meter, Glucometer, BP machine, etc.) to go to the doorsteps of village women and conduct series of tests (preventive) through mobile health-devices, capture data with the help of tablets and upload results on a cloud server developed by SSP’s technology partner.

A physician, hundreds-of-kms away (currently Pune), accesses data on the server and provides her expert comments and generates a medical-report. Sakhis deliver reports, provide verbal clarifications and reach details of care and precautions to patients.   Counselling is provided to those whose results are normal. Beneficiaries detected with anomalies are alerted and referred by Sakhis to existing network-hospitals and doctors, partnered with SSP.

The health services offered include:

• Awareness and information on need for preventive health care, sanitation, nutrition and hygiene
• Series of affordable tests at the doorstep
• Test reports with medical practitioner(Doctor’s) comments at doorstep
• Counselling on measures of preventive health care
• Linkage and Referral services at discounted rates

The project  is enabling early-detection of lifestyle-diseases and their mitigation through adoption of preventive health practices. Reference materials, step-wise instructions for conducting tests are also provided in the tablets for Arogya Sakhis’ easy reference. The Sakhis create health awareness and reach affordable services to the Bottom of the Pyramid population. The project reduces costs of future emergencies as illnesses are identified at an early-stage. The project also provides reliable, discounted services through partnership with existing network of doctors and hospitals.

The project aims to deliver in 2 years affordable preventive health-care solutions at the doorstep of rural households across 400 villages, covering 600,000 population through 100 empowered rural women as health entrepreneurs or Arogya Sakhis.

The project was initiated in January 2013 has so far covered 56 villages in Osmanabad district, 20 villages  in  Ahmednagar district and 2 villages in Chakan, Pune in Maharashtra.