Development of an mhealth app to support a primary healthcare response to domestic violence in Bengaluru, India

Patel, Krishna D.

Saturday, March 21, 2015: 9:50 AM-11:10 AM

Mount Vernon Square B (Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel)

Speaker:
Krishna D. Patel, BSPH, University of California, Berkeley

Authors:
N.S. Vishwanath, MBBS, MPH, St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences
Sri Ranganathan, BBM, Dimagi Software Innovations Pvt Ltd
Suneeta Krishnan, PhD, St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences

Presentation Format:
Innovative/Promising Practice Program Report

Learning Objectives:

Understand the utility of using a mobile based application to identify and respond to women experiencing DV in primary care in a limited resource setting.
Learn how and why primary health centers can be used as an entry point to address DV.

Description:
Domestic violence is a major public health challenge in Bengaluru, India. A Commcare mhealth application, developed in collaboration with Dimagi, Inc., was created to help nurses working in municipal primary health centers in urban Bengaluru identify and respond to women experiencing domestic violence. The proof of concept study indicated that the use of the app was feasible and acceptable among nurses and women, setting the stage for further innovation, improvements and scale up.