The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Madras) has developed an Information Technology (IT) tool to monitor the health of rural Scheduled Caste (SC) communities in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. The IT tool was developed using open source software to gather detailed household-level annual health-related information. "The IT tool was utilised to make an objective assessment of the impact of medical treatment and dietary advice on priority health issues. This would lead to evolving an optimal rural healthcare plan based on treatment efficacy and expenses," the release read.
The project was implemented in E. Palaguttapalli and its adjoining areas Pakaja Mandal and Pulicherla Mandal, in Chittoor which have a population of around 100 Scheduled Caste (SC) households. Due to poverty, their current diet is very poor, as a result the women and children are severely anaemic. "The IIT Madras efforts were geared towards improving their health. Internet-based live interactions were organized every alternate month where special lectures on improving health were delivered," it added. ALSO READ | IIT Madras Witnesses Increase In Pre-Placement Offers For 2022-23
Prof C. Lakshmana Rao, Department of Applied Mechanics, IIT Madras, said, “In pilot villages, a detailed baseline survey and mapping of health status and health expenses using IT tools was undertaken. It was intended to address priority health issues through medical treatment and dietary advice and its monitoring using IT tools. A post-intervention survey and mapping of health status and health expenses using IT tools."
The team also developed ‘Grameen Ayurveda Mobile Application' an innovative Android-based smart manager of a person's total health program. This application provides online doctor appointments, maintains patent data in digital form and it will help to track patient health status and treatment records.
