The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has developed an information technology tool to monitor and improve the health of rural Scheduled Caste (SC) communities in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. The IT tool, developed using open source software, was deployed to collect detailed annual health-related information at the household level.
This IT tool was also used to make an objective assessment of the impact of medical treatments and nutritional advice on priority health issues. The institute says this would lead to developing an optimal care plan in rural areas based on treatment effectiveness and cost.
The project was carried out in E. Palaguttapalli SC and the adjoining hamlets, PakaJa Mandal and Pulicherla Mandal, in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, with a population of approximately 100 Scheduled Caste (SC) households, each with 5-6 members.
Their diet used to consist mainly of ragi and other millet, many dairy products, fish and other water meat. The team of doctors at SV College of Ayurveda – Harnath Chary and Dr. Gnana prasoonaamba visited the villages once every two months and helped in the effective implementation of this project.
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Due to poverty, their current diet is dry and poor, devoid of dals, dairy products or meat. As a result, women and children become severely anemic. Correct nutritional advice by expert health professionals has been able to alleviate the symptoms. The efforts of IIT Madras focused on improving their health. Internet-based live interactions were organized every other month where special lectures on improving health were given.
prof. C. Lakshmana Rao, Department of Applied Mechanics, IIT Madras, said: “In pilot villages, a detailed baseline survey was conducted and health status and health costs mapped using IT tools. It aimed to address priority health issues through medical treatment and nutritional advice and their monitoring using IT tools. A post-intervention survey and mapping of health status and health expenditure using IT tools”
The preliminary next steps include:
– Implementing a mobile application for digitizing the process and better analysis. Also to create awareness about the use of mobile applications with the support of local youth volunteers.
– Start the tailor-made drug discovery on par with specific diseases such as anemia and weakness.
– Regularly organize and monitor the patients as part of medical camps and encourage them to adapt healthy habits.
– To investigate and evaluate the specific disease-related parameters for further medication and treatments.
Grameen Ayurvedic mobile application
Moreover, the same team led by Prof. C. Lakshmana Rao developed ‘Grameen Ayurveda mobile application’, an innovative Android-based smart manager of one’s total health program.
This application provides online doctor appointments, maintains patent records in digital form, and helps track patient health status and treatment records. It ensures patients’ follow-up routine, and patients are reminded for routine rechecks if necessary.
prof. C. Lakshmana Rao, Department of Applied Mechanics, IIT Madras, said, “Grameen Ayurveda provides individualized online Ayurveda health care advice along with knowledge of herbs that we can see every day in our homes, which helps to cure disease from the roots.”
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