Health Digitalization and Its Impact on Frontline Workers: A Study of Anganwadi Workers from Poshan Abhiyan
摘要
This chapter explores digital tools and technologies used by community health care workers, Anganwadi workers in India for health service delivery. Anganwadi Workers are the primary workforce of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). The Anganwadi Workers are a community-level workforce responsible for implementing various programs under the ICDS scheme, which covers programs related to prenatal and post-natal care, maternal nutrition, and children’s health. Recently, to digitize health service delivery, the Indian Government introduced a digital application called Poshan Tracker for these Anganwadi Workers to keep records and track their activities. Besides this, informally, Anganwadi Workers have started using other texting apps like WhatsApp to connect to their clients because of increasing digital connectivity among people. This chapter is based on the primary, qualitative study on the feasibility of this technology-mediated medium in India and how Anganwadi Workers use these digital mediums for their work. The research explores the use of digital applications has helped this ground-level workforce in their service delivery and what other digital platforms, like (WhatsApp and Facebook) they are using to connect to their clients; what change the introduction of mobile phone-based digital apps has brought to their work regarding efficiency and service delivery; and what are the advantages and problems they have been facing in this sudden digitization of their work. The chapter covers socio-technical issues around usage, practices and the feasibility of use of digital applications among healthcare workers, and the enabling systematic support health care anganwadi workers need in their work. The chapter, hence, will be able to provide insight on enabling environment needed by anganwadi workers to use the apps and device, and how informal use of apps like Whatsapp can contribute to better health-tech application for these workers.