Reducing health inequities through digital innovation with Olukunle Akinwusi of FIND & Erica Troncoso of Jhpiego

Dispatches from the 2022 Global Digital Health Forum  |  16 minutes

Jonathan Jackson sits down with Olukunle Akinwusi, Technical Officer for Digital Access at FIND & Erica Troncosco, Technical Advisor and Portfolio Lead for Frontier Technology Solutions at Jhpeigo, at the Global Digital Health Forum, to discuss the value of innovation in improving health equity through thoughtful diagnostics, involving the user in the design process, investing in the digital literacy of the Frontline Worker, and engaging country stakeholders to ensure buy-in.

Some topics covered in this conversation include:

• The importance of diagnostics in improving access to care and curbing disease prevalence
• Addressing the biggest diagnostic gaps at various levels of care
• The experiences and lessons learned from working on digital health projects
• Balancing the use of technology with ensuring that those new technologies are actually helping Frontline Workers provide better care
• The value of innovation and involving the user in the design process
• The need for investment in health worker digital literacy and the accessibility of infrastructure in more remote settings for digital health interventions
• The importance of engaging the countries or stakeholders in which the solution or innovation will be designed, understanding the context of use, and getting user buy-in

Related Resources:

• FIND: https://www.finddx.org
• Jhpiego: https://www.jhpiego.org
• Principles for Digital Development: https://digitalprinciples.org
• Design Under the Mango Tree - Dimagi’s approach to designing with users: https://www.dimagi.com/blog/20-years-of-designing-under-the-mango-tree/
• Solving Hard Problems, Designing Under the Mango Tree, and Taking a Product Approach: Lessons Learned from the Making of CommCare featuring Dr. Brian DeRenzi, Clayton Sims, Cory Zue and Dr. Neal Lesh: https://sites.dimagi.com/high-impact-growth-podcast/making-commcare
• Dimagi’s 5 Year Strategy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13O7SKwrQiMXM04zmB3jLxOEkCC0TF3UiJ7qwJm4mF_g/edit
• Dimagi’s High-Impact Growth Framework: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v_ial9hXI7Hy0c_T4A1uX-VOgx4DNeKNC_o_PZy4F2k/edit