Project Overview
A project done for CEGS and the Open Society Foundations re-envisioning mobile health for health centers in rural Guatemala.
CEGS is an organization working with indigenous communities throughout Guatemala in health and human rights, social participation, accountability and participatory monitoring of public policies and services. Through a series of interviews in Guatemala, our team leader found that what CEGS really needed was a mobile app for community monitoring. The goal was to build an SMS based medical inventory app using Frontline SMS forms that digitize CEGS’ paper forms. This application allows community leaders to text their needs as opposed to going through the lengthy administrative process.
Mobile Health
Role
UX Design, User Testing
Date
2012 - 2013
Client
CEGS, Open Society Foundation
Delivered
Mobile Health Plan
Description
After completing a working prototype, four community leaders from Nahuala were brought to the CEGS office to test the mobile forms and give feedback. With their feedback in mind we reframed our goal.
In order to open up the communication channels between indigenous communities, CEGS and the government, we developed a code system that allows community leaders to send text messages which report the lack of medication equipment and other concerns, with the goal of increasing knowledge of basic, individual health care rights and citizen empowerment. Our target audience were the community leaders of the Western Highlands that CEGS works with on self-monitoring health-care facilities.
We developed our own analog reporting device which we called a “Reporting Folder”. Health Care workers would use the reporting folder to reference a key number that would be texted to CEGS when the corresponding health supplies are low.
The second part of our concept involved using an USHAHIDI map. The map served as a crowd-sourced tool allowing community leaders to text concerns, thereby visualizing areas of need and enabling CEGS to facilitate resource sharing. Community leaders will text concerns and a map will automatically be updated. Using Ushahidi CEGS would be notified and would be able to contact community leaders to encourage resource sharing.
Ushahidi map http://www.vigilanciaysalud.com/ushahidi/
Collaborators: Paweena Prachanronarong, Amira Pettus, Michael Kahane, Joe Volpe