Mangaluru: A new KMC-NITK-led project will bring developmental support for preterm babies into homes, with ASHA workers guiding parents through activities and doctors monitoring children through teleconsultation during the crucial first two years of life.
The three-year project, led by Dr Suchetha S Rao, professor and head, department of paediatrics, Kasturba Medical College (KMC), Mangaluru, has received a Rs 1.28-crore grant from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and is scheduled to begin in Nov. The project also aims to reduce the number of children lost to follow-up after hospital discharge.
Dr Suchetha said early intervention is particularly important during the first two years of life, when the developing brain has a greater capacity to adapt. It is a team effort to ensure that children receive the intervention even when they cannot come to the hospital regularly,” she said. The project seeks to make developmental interventions more accessible, particularly for families in rural and remote areas who find repeated hospital visits difficult. “The strength of this project is the collaboration between the medical and engineering institutions and the involvement of community health workers.
Initial clinical enrolment will be through Govt Lady Goschen Hospital. The first seven to eight months will be spent developing and testing the digital platform and its backend systems. Titled ‘Development, validation and evaluation of an integrated digital platform and ASHA-supported home-based intervention to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in moderate and late preterm infants’, the project will bring together paediatricians, community medicine specialists, engineers and ASHA workers. The team includes Dr Laxmi Kamath, assistant professor, paediatrics; Dr Prasanna Mithra, professor and head, community medicine, KMC; and Dr Sowmya Kamath, associate professor, IT, NITK, Surathkal.