Mobile technology and artificial intelligence for improving health literacy among underserved communities

Résumé fourni par la source

Access and use of health information is indeed a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, especially for populations with low literacy. These difficulties are exacerbated by the increasing prevalence of foreign language content in digital health solutions, as well as the sometimes inadequate design of these solutions for local populations. These factors must be taken into account in the development and implementation of digital health solutions to ensure that they are truly accessible and beneficial to all populations. In this context, this research focuses on improving the accessibility and use of health information (health literacy) among lowliterate populations in Burkina Faso through AI-enabled mobile health solutions. The research methodology includes literature reviews, interviews, surveys and observations to accurately understand the specific needs of low literacy users. Based on this feedback, concrete design principles will be established to guide the development of a prototype Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system in the Dioula language. The mobile service is then evaluated with users to enable iterative improvements to the solution, taking user feedback into account. In addition, this research contributes to the creation of annotated speech data in Dioula to address the lack of speech data for assistive speech technologies for the population. By highlighting the importance of local languages and adapted technologies, this study demonstrates how AI-enabled mobile health solutions can effectively overcome barriers related to literacy to improve the health literacy of marginalised populations. The findings of this study are in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus reinforcing their positive impact on the health of vulnerable populations in Burkina Faso.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.