The Government through the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation in partnership with HP East Africa and Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) today launched a project that will enable health workers in the field detect and manage disease outbreaks through smart phones.
HP enabled this by donating 250 HP Palm Pre-Smart Phones, the first of their kind in the continent, to facilitate early detection and response to communicable public health threats in the country through mobile health monitoring technology. The phones are just a part of KES 91 million worth of technological support that HP will be extending to the Government through the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) program.
The project will enable health workers to collect data through a web operating system (webOS) application, upload the same, analyze and share the data with organizations like National Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Program (Nascop). Using the system, health workers will gain access to specific cases and location information from their mobile devices in the field. Health officers in the area and members of the Ministry will then receive a text message alerting them of the outbreak
The HP Regional Managing Director, Mr. Mbwaya said his company will continue offering technological support to help improve other sectors in the country and facilitate efficiency and effectiveness.
Mr. Mbwaya said through the flexibility and ease of development on the webOS platform, a surveillance application enables health workers to perform real time surveys from the field. Health workers are able to enter accurate, context rich data through pictures, video audio, GPS coordinates, qualitative and quantitative information about the case.
The initiative is being steered by The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, in collaboration with HP, Strathmore Business School and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).
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