Journey For Health.

AKDN eHRC and the Aga Khan Health Board, USA (AKHB, USA) have collaborated to develop Journey For Health, a mobile application designed to encourage and motivate users to stay fit by exercising.

Launched in April 2017 for users in the United States, Journey For Health is an engaging application that records users’ daily physical activity, actual steps taken and exercise routine.

The journey of an individual or a team is initiated by registration on the application. It starts from Houston, USA and ends in Hyderabad, India. Along the way, there are 19 Aga Khan Development Network sites, set as milestones, which the user needs to achieve or unlock. The application converts each performed activity into steps and visualizes the user’s progress on a customized map, which is also displayed on the user’s dashboard.

Functional expertise for Journey For Health is provided by AKHB, USA while technical expertise is provided by AKDN eHRC. AKDN eHRC also supports and hosts the application.

In Beirut, AKF team and AKDN eHRC discuss eHealth needs and potential interventions in Syria

The Aga Khan Development Network eHealth Resource Centre (AKDN eHRC) and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), Syria met in Beirut, Lebanon to discuss how technology can be leveraged to provide health care access to underserved communities in Syria.

eHealth has great potential to provide quality health care services to communities affected by the current political and security conditions of the country.

As a result of two days’ meetings with the field team, an eHealth plan was prepared by AKF, Syria and the AKDN eHRC team. Further meetings are being held to prepare feasibility of implementation plans for the eHealth initiatives in Syria.

Participants engage in workshop activities during the Telemedicine and mHealth Innovations workshop in Dubai, UAE.

In February 2017, AKDN eHRC conducted a workshop on telemedicine and mHealth innovations in Dubai, UAE for health care professionals and programme managers. In March, another session of the workshop was conducted in Islamabad, Pakistan for participants from Afghanistan who were unable to attend the workshop in Dubai.

The workshop, titled, Telemedicine and mHealth Innovations: Exploring Possibilities, was designed to build eHealth capacities of professionals in the health sector; help them understand the applications of telemedicine and mHealth solutions; and address the challenges around eHealth service delivery. Participants took part in presentation sessions and hands-on activities that were designed to allow them to effectively implement and manage eHealth activities in the region.

Participants take part in a group discussion during the Telemedicine and mHealth Innovations workshop in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Twenty-eight participants from Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan and Tajikistan benefitted from the three-day workshop in Dubai and the two-day workshop in Islamabad.

Training of data collectors being conducted in Gilgit-Baltistan for the telepsychiatry impact evaluation study.

AKDN eHRC in collaboration with multiple national and international partners undertook two impact evaluation studies in 2015. Both projects, funded by the Aga Khan Foundation, Canada and Global Affairs Canada, are now coming to a close.

The projects, titled, 'Assessing the Effectiveness of Telepsychiatry Consultations in Pakistan' and 'An assessment of the effectiveness of the eLearning based program offered by the FMIC in Afghanistan and Tajikistan', each focus on different areas of eHealth, telemedicine and eLearning, respectively.

The telemedicine project focuses on assessing teleconsultation services in Psychiatry offered by the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi to remote sites in Northern Pakistan while the eLearning project focuses on evaluating the efficacy of the eLearning intervention in Afghanistan and Tajikistan on improving Maternal, Newborn and Child Health knowledge and practices of health care providers at various hospitals.

Data collection, analysis and reporting have been completed, while project reports are in the process of being finalized. Feedback from the scientific research committee members is being taken, after which the reports are to be published. Dissemination activities, including journal publications, presentations at various international and national conferences and seminars, will be completed by October 2017.

During the eLearning study, challenges were encountered in the collection of data on the field in Afghanistan. Given the security conditions there, it was not feasible for researchers to be on the ground to collect data. To mitigate this challenge, AKDN eHRC leveraged technology to develop an Android application for remote collection of data. The electronic data collection tool allowed researchers to virtually administer questionnaires, conduct training and monitor activities. Similarly, to facilitate the collection of data for the telemedicine project, AKDN eHRC developed a separate application allowing researchers to gather data through surveys.

AKDN eHRC’s goal of undertaking evidence-based research is to improve access to health care practices, treatments and interventions through new technologies, which ultimately lead to improved health outcomes for individuals and populations.

The Global South eHealth Observatory.

In continued efforts to promote improved access to quality health care services in remote, rural regions, AKDN eHRC has partnered with the Global South eHealth Observatory of the Pierre Fabre Foundation.

The partnership focuses on improving health outcomes of poor and marginalized communities and building capacity of health care providers in South-Central Asia.

In 1999, the Pierre Fabre Foundation was established to improve access to quality health care and medicines for people in the least-developed countries. In 2016, the Pierre Fabre Foundation established The Global South eHealth Observatory to help develop innovative eHealth initiatives that improve access to quality health care and medicines for the most disadvantaged populations in resource-limited countries.

One of the first initiatives under the partnership would be the translation of AKDN eHRC’s Online Course in eHealth in French. This would allow health care professionals of French-speaking countries to gain access to a professional development opportunity, enabling them to better implement eHealth projects.

The partnership between AKDN eHRC and the Global South eHealth Observatory would aim to encourage implementation of new ideas and solutions for eHealth, capacity building initiatives and help remove geographical barriers for health care access in underserved regions. For AKDN eHRC, the partnership will result in strengthened strategic alliances and allow it to collaborate with key eHealth catalysts globally.