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(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Bridging the Gap: e-learning as a Catalyst for Health and Nutrition Awareness

(AUGUST-2024)

Bridging the Gap: e-learning as a Catalyst for Health and Nutrition Awareness

Introduction:

In recent years, there is an increasing awareness regarding health and nutrition, driven by the urgent need to improve public health outcomes. In India, particularly in rural areas, disseminating this crucial information has posed significant challenges. E-learning has the potential to transcend geographical barriers and provide accessible education, making it a powerful catalyst for enhancing health and nutrition awareness in rural communities.

Initiatives taken by the Government:

The Indian government has launched several schemes and programs to promote e-learning and improve health and nutrition awareness in rural areas. These initiatives aim to harness technology to overcome barriers and ensure equitable access to information and services.

Digital India Initiative: Launched in 2015, the Digital India initiative aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. It focuses on providing high-speed internet access, promoting digital literacy, and delivering government services electronically. Under this campaign, various initiatives have been rolled out to enhance e-learning platforms for health and nutrition awareness. The establishment of Common Service Centres (CSCs) in rural areas provides a digital touchpoint for villagers to access e-learning modules and health information.

e-Sanjeevani: A telemedicine service that connects patients in rural areas with doctors and specialists in urban centres through video consultations. This service improves access to healthcare and provides timely medical advice. It aims to bridge the gap between rural patients and healthcare providers through digital platforms.
DigiLocker: An online platform that enables individuals to securely store and share important documents, including health records and educational certificates. This facilitates easy access to personal health information and enhances continuity of care.
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan (PMGDISHA): It was launched in 2017 to help people in rural areas become digitally literate. Aimed at making at least one person in every household digitally literate, this program includes modules on health and nutrition awareness.
National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM): Focuses on providing digital literacy to citizens, including health-related e-learning content.
e-Health: It was introduced to provide timely and effective healthcare services such as online registrations, payments, reports, and claims.
E-education: It was started to provide online education in remote and urban areas using technologies such as smartphones, apps, and internet services.
eRaktKosh: It is a centralised blood bank management system inaugurated on April 7, 2016, for automation of blood banks and has a web-based application with Aadhaar linkage facility.
Services e-Health Assistance and Teleconsultation (SeHAT) is the tri-services teleconsultation service of the Ministry of Defense designed for all entitled personnel and their families. As part of the Government’s commitment to Digital India and e-governance, SeHAT was launched on May 27, 2021.

National Digital Health Mission (NDHM): Launched in 2020, NDHM aims to create a digital health ecosystem that supports universal health coverage. Key components of the mission include the creation of unique health IDs for individuals, electronic health records, and a health information exchange platform. These initiatives are particularly beneficial for rural populations, as they streamline access to healthcare services and improve health outcomes.

Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0: Ministry of Women and Child Development has implemented the Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 during the 15th Finance Commission period 2021-22 to 2025-26. Revised guidelines have been released on June 24, 2024 with a focus to strengthen ICT component and better implementation and monitoring of Mission Poshan 2.0 with the directions to follow the provisions with immediate effect including provision of smart phone and data recharge support to Lady Supervisors and Block Coordinators, 2% buffer for Smart phones, etc.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission: The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country.

It will bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of healthcare ecosystem through digital highways. ABDM has the following components:

Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR): It is a comprehensive repository of allhealthcare professionals involved in delivery of healthcare services across both modern and traditional systems of medicine. Enrolling in the Healthcare Professionals Registry will enable them to get connected to India’s digital health ecosystem.
ABHA Mobile App (PHR): A PHR is an electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognised interoperability standards and that can be drawn from multiple sources while being managed, shared, and controlled by the individual.
Health Facility Registry (HFR): It is a comprehensive repository of health facilities of the nation across different systems of medicine. It includes both public and private health facilities including hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories and imaging centres, pharmacies, etc. Enrolling in the Health Facility Registry will enable them to get connected to India’s digital health ecosystem.
Unified Health Interface (UHI): The UHI Network is designed as an open protocol connecting End User Applications (EUAs) and Health Service Provider (HSP) applications. It will facilitate various digital health services, such as appointment booking, teleconsultation, and service discovery, between patients and HSPs.

Way forward:

The integration of e-learning platforms into health and nutrition awareness programs in rural India has the potential to revolutionise public health outcomes.
By focusing on infrastructure development, community engagement, capacity building, and cultural sensitivity, these initiatives can become more effective and impactful.
Partnerships with various stakeholders, continuous monitoring, content diversification, and strong government support are crucial for sustaining these efforts.
Through a combined approach of innovative strategies and practical solutions, e-learning can significantly improve health and nutrition awareness, ultimately leading to healthier and more informed rural communities.