A smartphone-based clinical decision support system for primary health

Background

Hypertension related disease affected 118 million people in India in the year 2000; this figure will double by 2025. Our studies in rural India have found that 1 in 4 adults have hypertension and a minority are achieving adequate blood pressure (BP) control. The current health system infrastructure is grossly under-resourced to meet these gaps in care and innovative solutions are needed.

Aims

To test whether an electronic clinical decision support system could assist non-physician health workers and doctors in making evidence-based management decisions to lower their patients’ CVD risks.

Project plan

The two specific objectives of this project were:

• To develop a multifaceted primary healthcare worker intervention that utilised a mobile device-based clinical decision support system to improve optimal BP control in high risk individuals.

• To evaluate this program utilising a mixed methods evaluation in a cluster randomised trial involving 54 villages in rural Andhra Pradesh.

The intervention was evaluated using a stepped- wedge cluster randomised, controlled trial (cRCT) of two years duration.

Publications and output

GACD have published an end-of-programme report, providing a comprehensive summary of the programme and outcomes.

The George Institute developed a press release about the project, Technology to the service of a healthy heart.

Funding organisations

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