Use of a tablet-based epilepsy diagnosis app by computer-naïve health workers: Our experience in a tribal Indian community (S32.003)

Objective: To assess how computer-naive rural Indian health workers coped with using a tablet based epilepsy diagnosis app. Background: There is an extreme shortage of doctors in most rural areas of India and this is an important cause of the treatment gap. Reducing the epilepsy treatment gap is going to need involvement of non-physician health workers (NPHWs). For this, NPHWs need to be empowered to perform “medical” tasks such as diagnosis and providing epilepsy primary care. We have developed a tool to reliably distinguish between epileptic and non-epileptic episodes and have presented this as an app to be run on a tablet. As a part of a project, we supplied computer-naive NPHWs in a rural Indian setting with this tablet. Design/Methods: There were 12 NPHWs of different levels of education. The app Epilepsy Diagnosis Aid (NetProphets pvt) was supplied on Pentium tablets. NPHWs were given a one-day course on epilepsy and a half-day course on how to use the tablet and the app. After 6 months we assessed: hardware issues, software issues, ease of use of tablet, ease of use of app and other possible applications of this technology. Results: One tablet screen broke and was replaced. Users were temporarily shut out of three tablets. The tablet was used for other purposes by 8/12 NPHWs and by 6/10 of their families. Three NPHWs and 8/10 of their families had used the internet. The app was judged easy to use in nine. Five of the app questions were judged difficult in one instance. The majority thought that pictures would make the app more understandable. All 12 would like the app to be developed to enable epilepsy treatment and management. All could think of other uses of this technology. Conclusions: NPHWs had little difficulty using this unfamiliar technology. The tablets were well looked after and used for other purposes by NPHWs and their families. This method of empowering health workers in diagnosis and management has implications well beyond epilepsy in treating illnesses where there are not enough doctors. Disclosure: Dr. Singh has nothing to disclose. Dr. Samant has nothing to disclose. Dr. Patterson has nothing to disclose. Dr. Agavane has nothing to disclose. Dr. Jain has nothing to disclose.