Global Health Informatics to Improve Quality of Care

mHealth Project Proposal: IMCI

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Every day, millions of parents seek health care for their sick children, taking them to hospitals,
health centers, pharmacists, doctors and traditional healers. Surveys reveal that many sick children are
not properly assessed and treated by these health care providers, and that their parents are poorly
advised. At first-level health facilities in low-income countries, diagnostic supports such as radiology and
laboratory services are minimal or non-existent, and drugs and equipment are often scarce. Limited
supplies and equipment, combined with an irregular flow of patients, leave health workers at this level
with few opportunities to practice complicated clinical procedures. Instead, they often rely on history and
signs and symptoms to determine a course of management that makes the best use of the available
resources.
The integrated approach to child health that focuses on the well-being of the whole child aims to
reduce death, illness and disability, and to promote improved growth and development among children
under five years of age. IMCI includes both preventive and curative elements that are implemented by
families and communities as well as by health facilities.
Its easy-to-follow-guidelines have helped thousands of children and healthcare providers too as
the information on the assessment, treatment and follow up instructions are available in a single book.
However, record-keeping is still designed on the old paper-pen strategies and a national database on the
number of consultations and interventions provided are still not available.
The IMCI if upgraded electronically can cater more services to those in need especially on far-
flung areas. Likewise, the emergence of portable devices that can be linked and synchronized has
become a helpful device among different walks of life with different uses. The IMCI, which is a powerful
decision-making and information source, is presented in a booklet. It is also designed with coded colors to
indicate priority level and for the health care providers use it with ease and easy to master.
Several Java applications have already been developed to utilize the IMCI. However, the
complete features of this disease management process are not fully appreciated on those applications.
Moreover, the user-friendliness is also quite an issue.
Location: Manila, Philippines
Partner Organizations: DOH; UP-MIU; MIT; Sana
Project Lead: Mito Cisnero Members: Winselle Manalo; Charlotte Pascua; Kenrick Ibana

Objectives:
This project aims to:
1. Develop an android/iOS application that can utilize the IMCI
2. Store database on the consultations, patients and treatments that will be linked on
a national level
3. Train healthcare providers on how to use the developed application
Global Health Informatics to Improve Quality of Care
Technical Components:
1. Android Simulator
2. MySql
3. Apache
Project needs:
1. Android Developer
2. Web designers
3. Php programmers