MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name

Neha: A Health information and awareness program chatbot

One-line solution summary.

Neha is a chatbot that provides young people in India with health-related information, awareness programs, and training.

Elevator pitch

What is your solution?

Our solution is a chatbot which is accessible via Whatsapp and Facebook with content that covers health related information, awareness programs and training in regional languages (text, audio and video).

Under Health, we have identified 4 primary areas of users' urgent need and interest: (1)sexual and reproductive health and rights, (2)mental health, (3)substance abuse,and (4)noncommunicable diseases.

Under Health Information, we aim to provide general information regarding the above mentioned health topics, plus also provide information regarding health related entitlements and healthcare services that is available in the users region. We intend to provide curated interactive modules that focus on influencing users' knowledge and mindsets under awareness programs. And we intend provide basic skills under training programs, in addition to impacting users' knowledge and mindsets. We intend to use an experiential learning approach with tasks organised as a modular library from which users can choose.

Our solution is an effort towards health promotion in communities. A low-cost scalable tool that users can access conveniently for general health related information and programs. We are using Glific and Gupshup, a chatbot and messaging service providers integrated to whatsapp business API.

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

1. A need for Health Information and Awareness Programs

The pandemic in India raised an unprecedented level of awareness among young people in India about the need for improved and easily accessible health-related information and awareness programs.

a. Youthbol, a Campaign by Centre for Catalyzing Change supported by USAID and Maternal and Child Survival Program, surveyed 1,10,092 young people (10-24 years of age) across 27 states and 4 union territories of India. This report concluded that almost 40,000 young people, i.e., 36% of all respondents, demanded improved health information and services.

b. The National Family Health Survey, NFHS-4 (2015-16) found that more than 40% of young girls were using unhygienic methods during menstruation (Source) - Our chatbot can provide awareness programs and training at scale for a larger population

c. What the World's Young People Feel and think? (Source) - Survey on 20,000 - 20-27 years olds worldwide found that health is the 3rd main cause of anxiety in youth. (2017)

2. Challenges caused by the Pandemic

The pandemic has put a stop to a number of community based health interventions. Most onground work of civil societies have come to a hold in India over the last year. It has also raised concerns over health more in citizens. A large number of orgs in the space of prevention in Healthcare, have moved their focuses largely on Covid related solutions. It has opened a wider demand for general health awareness programs and trainings.

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Our solution will serve all 10-24 year old young people in India. Our solutions aims to provide health related information and programs which can create agency and build capacity in them to help themselves and people around them.

The pandemic has had a huge impact on users lives and they have become more interested in their health. Several surveys and online polling have indicated that health is a top priority for Indian youth. These users often do not have time for large programs and few trainings or programs they are part of is often provided to them via partnership of school and the solution provider. Users often lack agency in opting resources that they want - a chatbot provides users the freedom to opt for the services and training. Research has suggested that when users have more freedom in choosing can lead to more retention, ownership and impact.

Chatbot over the last year in India has proven to be an useful model of engagement largely for education and career training based programs and user engagement. There is scope for using /replicating chatbots for more healthcare based solutions. Most solutions now aim to create apps that is one additional application on a users phone, whereas we wanted to reach users in places they are spending the most time - whatsapp and facebook. Having our chatbot in places where it is easy to access - can allow more users to be inclined to using the solution.

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

1. June 2021 - August 2021 - Team lead works with an Education non-profit in India. He is working in the innovation lab of the organization and has led a 3 month long project to identify needs of young people in India. Conducted extensive secondary and primary research and access to Health information was among the top 10 needs identified.

2. Sept 2021 - Nov 2021 - Team Lead received an Exploratory Research Micro-grant from MIT Solv[Ed]. Team lead was interested to explore Mental health solutions in rural communities for an adolescent population. But the research's insight helped identify that there is a need for general health related information and programs across the categories of reproductive and sexual health, mental health and substance abuse.

3. We are in the prototype stage of the product and intend to co-design / co-build the solution directly with users.

Which aspects of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Improving healthcare access and health outcomes; and reducing and ultimately eliminating health disparities (Health)

Our solution's stage of development:

Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model

Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution—in other words, what have you accomplished to date?

We are in the prototyping stage of the solution/product. Listening and understanding users as closely as possible in the last one year, it helped us come up with the concept. We believed for a product that can truly address users needs, we wish to co-design with the users. We are entering this prototype phase where we will be using an existing chatbot service platform for Non-profits, Glific to design and prototype our product and are putting together small groups of potential users to co-design the content.

Where our solution team is headquartered or located:

Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Team Lead:

Tony Brian Dsouza