AKDN dHRC collaborates with national and international partners to develop high-impact, low-cost health products and applications that address health problems in the developing world. Collaborations also focus on bringing about behaviour change, improving the quality of care, making health care delivery more efficient and more patient-centred.
dHRC in collaboration with the Department of Medicine at the Aga Khan University, designed and developed Meri Shifa (meaning ‘My Health’ in Urdu). The platform was conceived as a part of a pilot feasibility study funded by The George Institute for global Health.
dHRC has developed an mHealth application, PurUmeed Aghaaz, to assess the effectiveness of coaching in improving nutrition and the use of supplements (such as folic acid, iron and Vitamin D) during pregnancy, compared to standard counseling.
The Aga Khan University, Karachi, launched Umeed-e-Nau in 2016, a project aimed at improving maternal, child, and adolescent health in Pakistan. Umeed-e-Nau (meaning ‘new hope’ in Urdu), is a five-year research project, funded by a USD $25m grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The research aims to assess the various approaches, insights, and evidence around maternal, child and adolescent health care.
In collaboration with the Novartis Foundation, AKDN dHRC has developed an Electronic Tool to Improve Quality of Health (eTIQH), to address the lack of access to quality primary healthcare and improve patient health outcomes.
To enable patients to seek quality healthcare services and receive teleconsultations in real-time, AKDN dHRC has developed the VirtualDoc mobile application, a patient-centered platform, which provides access to specialists via teleconsultations.
AKDN dHRC has developed Sehatmandi, a tablet-based application to digitise the previously manual assessment and monitoring process for select health facilities.
AKDN dRHC in collaboration with the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, has designed and developed the Sales and Service Outreach mobile application, to enable sales staff to conveniently manage their workloads and report progress.
The Rahbar application is the product of a successful pilot study, Movies4Stroke, carried out under Dr Ayeesha Kamal, through evidence-based research and clinical testing at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
AKDN dHRC has partnered with the Aga Khan University (AKU) and Tech4Life Enterprises to develop a device for non-invasive diagnosis of stroke risks. Zahir Medic is a wearable leather glove that allows patients to check their blood pressure, ECG and glucose levels non-invasively.
Bolta Parcha, meaning Talking Prescription, assesses the effectiveness of using mHealth tools and technologies to increase medication adherence and health literacy in patients with vascular diseases in Pakistan.
AKDN dHRC and the Aga Khan University (AKU) Stroke Programme have collaborated to develop Movies4Stroke, a series of informative and educational movies for stroke patients and their caregivers.
Teeko, meaning vaccination in the local language, provides real-time data on a vaccinator’s field movements through GPS tracking and on the number of children being immunized. Vaccinators can also check vaccine stock availability at their respective health facilities through the app.
In Pakistan, the AKDN Digital Health Programme offers telepsychiatry services at its health centres in Chitral and Gilgit. Patients at these facilities benefit from live teleconsultations in psychiatry offered by specialists at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
Building professional capacity of health care providers through eLearning sessions is a major objective of the AKDN Digital Health Programme. The French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children (FMIC) offers eLearning sessions to health care providers at Bamyan and Faizabad Provincial Hospitals and Mirwais Regional Hospital, Kandahar in Afghanistan and Khorog Oblast General Hospital in Tajikistan.
In an effort to standardise data collection of deliveries across Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) health facilities, a standard electronic data collection tool, the AKDN Delivery Tool, was developed and implemented by the AKDN Digital Health Resource Centre (AKDN dHRC) after consultation with various stakeholders.
In efforts to streamline preparations at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Karachi for the renewal of Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation that occurs every three years, AKDN dHRC recently developed and launched the AKUH – JCIA App.
Pakistan has the third highest burden of maternal, foetal and child mortality in the world. In 2018, AKDN dHRC in collaboration with the Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan (AKHS, P) developed and launched an mHealth app, Nighedaasht, in remote, rural areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, Pakistan in efforts to improve Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) outcomes.
Routine polio immunisation coverage for children in Pakistan stands at 59%, well below the recommended coverage of 90%. During 2017, the AKDN Digital Health Resource Centre helped develop the Paigham-e-Sehat application to support a research study undertaken by AKU.
In a country lacking post-stroke rehabilitation facilities, Pakistan, AKDN dHRC and the Aga Khan University (AKU) Stroke Programme collaborated to develop Rahbar, an electronic prescription app with educational videos for stroke patients and their caregivers.
In collaboration with the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, AKDN Digital Health Resource Centre developed and implemented Clinical Rounds, a mobile application integrated with a web portal to help facilitate health care providers in recording their presence for various events, engagements and activities.
Hayat is a mHealth innovation, which aims to empower frontline health workers with digital health technologies in efforts to increase coverage of and access to routine immunisation, maternal, new-born and child care (MNCH) and child growth services in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
