Keywords: Anemia, Antenatal Care, Data analysis, cloud computing, MMR and IMR
Context:
The Burden of anemia in India is a major public health issue. More than 50% women and 20% children suffer from anemia and a leading cause of 40% maternal deaths in the country.
In the state of Karnataka, 79% of maternal deaths are found to occur due to anemia Karnataka State Health system 2015, 16). Antenatal period is crucial among pregnant women, lending adequate access to prevention, care and monitoring. However, rural communities in the region face several healthcare challenges, making pregnancy a high risk one,followed by poor pregnancy outcomes.
Anemia during pregnancy is preventable, if it is picked up well in time in the antenatal period through basic blood tests and clinical examination ( ).
How we contribute: In north Karnataka where many pregnant women face significant barriers to obtaining quality antenatal care, iKure is bringing care at the door steps of the rural people.
Through app. based diagnostic device, and innovative healthcare solutions, pregnant women are identified and regularly screened and monitored by trained health workers at the convenience of their home. They take health status assessment on their mobile app. perform blood tests and clinical examinations, organize health camps and message dissemination programs.
Patients who are at high risk of developing anemia or afflicted with the disorder are monitored frequently and supported by medical team to connect with doctors virtually through telemedicine platform or hospital referral system.
To provide patients with better healthcare outcomes, iKure using data analysis technology extracts useful knowledge with respect to anemia for better decision making and management. Through various technology innovations such as cloud computing, mhealth technology and smart applications supported by WHIMS, iKure is generating multiple data sources allowing doctors and researchers to make informed clinical and behavioural decisions, improving treatment processes and detecting anemia well in advance.
Impact:
The strategic antenatal care adopted by iKure provides the potential to significantly reduce the prevalence of anemia in Karnataka. In north Karnataka, with a sample size of 91 pregnant women, the insights collected in the Ist round of antenatal checkup reported 64% of the respondent with low haemoglobin count, which interestingly reduced to 57% in second round and 43% in third round checkup. Low blood pressure reduced from 24 respondents in the first round of health check up to 14 in third round. The programme is already demonstrating positive health outcomes, including raising health seeking behaviors among pregnant women who did not knew that they were at risk of developing severe anemia and other chronic ailments, increasing consumption of folic acid and iron tablets and reducing abortion rates.