Lawson researcher hopes to make health care mobile
1-Nov-2011 - LONDON, ON - 1 million people in Uganda live with HIV/AIDS, where long distances and expensive travel
costs significantly limit access to treatment. By employing an innovative mobile-technology strategy, Dr. Femida Gwadry-Sridhar, Director
of I-THINK Research at Lawson Health Research Institute, hopes to provide a much-needed solution.
Over 10 million Ugandans now own a mobile device. By leveraging this common technology, Dr. Gwadry-Sridhar believes
she can create widespread information sharing at minimal costs. She and her team plan to develop educational animated messages to be
delivered directly to individual cell phones.
Dr. Gwadry-Sridhar hopes this strategy will generate a grassroots impact, leveraging existing social networks
and influence to drive community learning. Through her colleagues at the Salama Shield Foundation and Makerere University, she will reach
out directly to health care providers and community leaders to extend and improve care delivery.
"We can deliver vital healthcare information via these types of mobile devices," Gwadry-Sridhar says. "Our project
will deliver animated messages to people of all ages to help them understand and manage AIDS/HIV and to prevent further spread."
This proposal is currently under consideration for Grand Challenges Canada's Canadian Rising Stars in Global Health Program. The program
aims to tap into the creativity, knowledge and skills of emerging Canadian innovators to solve some of the most persistent health
challenges in the developing world.
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To learn more or support this initiative, view the video proposal at http://bit.ly/lawsongrandchallenges .
Lawson Health Research Institute. As the research institute of London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph's Health Care, London, and working in partnership with The University
of Western Ontario, Lawson Health Research Institute is committed to furthering scientific knowledge to advance health care around the
world. www.lawsonresearch.com
For more information, please contact:
Sonya Gilpin
Communications & Public Relations
Lawson Health Research Institute
519-685-8500 ext. 75852
sonya.gilpin@lawsonresearch.com
www.lawsonresearch.com
Source: EurekAlert!
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/lhri-pho110111.php
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