From next month, TB patients in the country will be able to access important information about disease management through a smartphone app.
The app, Talking TB, is a part of the patient education programme that will offer nuggets of information on various aspects of disease management such as nutrition, side effects of medicines, and dealing with discrimination, through a set of films.
Each of these three-minute films—also available on Youtube—features a TB survivor, who talks about a specific aspect of the disease in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Malayalam.
In one of the films, a 26-year-old doctor, who is also a TB survivor, talks about the need for high protein diet for the patients; another survivor advises patients to be regular with their doses to ensure the disease doesn't develop into its more dangerous form.
India has the highest burden of TB in the world, and according to government data, 29 lakh new cases of TB are recorded each year, and 4.20 lakh people, mostly poor, are known to die of the disease. The economic loss due to the disease has been calculated to be Rs 20,000 crore per annum.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government is planning to eliminate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target.
Nonetheless, those affected by the disease face numerous challenges, as treatment may last from six months to 24 months.
"We designed the films based on the needs of those suffering from the disease. For instance, patients are handed out printed pamphlets with information related to the disease. But what's the use if they cannot read? Also, people said they wanted information in their regional language," said Chapal Mehra, convenor, Survivors Against TB, the group that is launching the app. The app is currently being tested, and will be out in a month's time, said Mehra.
Among those suffering from the disease, especially women, privacy was also a big issue, he said. "Many women said they did not want to disclose their disease status, and so accessing information become difficult. An app will give them the advantage of privacy," said Mehra. The app would also have a feature wherein users could set alerts for medicine doses, and even message the disease survivors for help. The app will be free, and would not require users to register, or part with information they do not want to.
Currently, Mehra said, the group is in talks with leading private diagnostic labs such as SRL Diagnostics, to ensure that patients who come for tests could be told about the films and the app.
“As survivors of the disease, we understand the need to empower patients to manage TB. Information is critical when it comes to dealing with TB. When I was diagnosed with MDR-TB, I had no idea where to seek treatment from, how to manage side-effects and deal with stigma. This makes those affected by TB and their families vulnerable and helpless. These films are an attempt to address this information gap,” said Deepti Chavan, an MDR-TB survivor who is featured in the films.