This app can help determine the risk of diabetes for people in rural India

A new healthcare app could help people in India determine their risk of developing diabetes.

Launched in New Delhi on Wednesday, the Australian-developed app forms part of the SMARThealth program created by Sydney-based The George Institute for Global Health, and will see healthcare workers trained to use an Android tablet app in rural areas where doctors are scarce.

According to the project rationale, the program is training healthcare workers due to a lack of doctors in rural India — in some parts of the country, one doctor is expected to provide comprehensive primary health care for up to 30,000 residents. Australian rural areas, in comparison, are estimated to have 58 doctors per 100,000 people in rural areas. In the U.S., rural areas have approximately 68 doctors per 100,000 people.

Why a focus on diabetes for the project? There were over 72 million cases of diabetes in India in 2017, and lack of access to health and medical services in India is significant — there are approximately 600 million people with little or no access to healthcare.

So, this project intends to open up this availability by equipping healthcare workers with technology. Dubbed IMPACT Diabetes, the program will train women in the community health sector to use a new tablet app. Healthcare workers, known as accredited social health activists (ASHAs), will be able to screen people in Indian communities to identify those with diabetes or at high risk of the disease.

"IMPACT Diabetes will help people living in rural areas to access timely, affordable and guideline-based healthcare in the community, reduce the risk of developing life-threatening complications and ultimately save lives," said Vivek Jha, executive director of The George Institute for Global Health, India, in a statement.

So, how does the app actually work?

While the general public won't be able to use the app, trained healthcare professionals will be granted access to it on tablets and smartphones.

Patients will have their case history recorded by ASHAs, be tested for blood sugar levels and blood pressure, and have their weight and height recorded. Then, after all their measured data is entered into the app, the patient's risk score can be calculated.

Then healthcare workers can offer patients appropriate diet and lifestyle advice — or, if they're at high risk for the disease, refer them to a doctor for treatment.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The app will allow ASHAs to schedule follow-ups with patients, to ensure their condition is being managed.

“This is innovation at its best,” said Jha, who said findings from the program in India would be brought back to New South Wales. "This digital model of healthcare could work equally well for remote and low social-economic communities in Australia."

Designed as a technologically progressive means to enable the systematic medical appraisal, referral and treatment (SMART) of patients at high risk of premature death or disability, Australia's SMARThealth program was launched in 2013 as a primary healthcare tool for locations with a lack of resources. Since then it has expanded to India, Indonesia, and Thailand.