Project Mentor: Khanjan Mehta, Creative Inquiry
Project Description:
How can we alert pregnant women about necessary check-ups to improve maternal health outcomes?
Strong health outcomes are closely linked to patients adhering to scheduled medical appointments. Yet, in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), patient follow-up is a significant challenge due to factors such as high healthcare costs, lengthy travel distances, limited health literacy, social influences, and simple forgetfulness, all contributing to missed appointments.
The team is dedicated to tackling this issue by reducing clinic wait times and enhancing the reliability of patient appointments. We are developing rugged, user-friendly devices designed to facilitate effective communication between patients and healthcare workers in both rural and urban settings. Our innovative approach involves reimagining wearable technology, which has become ubiquitous in the Western world, to meet the unique needs and constraints of countries like Sierra Leone. This project seeks to explore how wearable technologies can be adapted to improve health outcomes in LMICs, ensuring that medical care is more accessible and effective.