Usability and acceptability of electronic Partograph in north- east states, India

Background: DAKSH is a tablet-based device developed to improve maternal and child healthcare by addressing challenges in the use of partograph. This device is developed to help in decision making, automated partograph development, and alerts for complications. The aim of the study is to evaluate the usability and acceptability of this tablet-based device in low resource areas. Methods: This study is a mixed-methods cross-sectional study. It was done at four primary health care settings in the Northeast states of India. Staff nurses and medical officers were trained to use this device. The data was collected for 13 months from November 2017 to November 2018. After the training and use of the device, surveillance questionnaire forms were sent to the healthcare settings which they filled. Results: Data for 292 mothers were recorded for the study for 13 months. It was observed that more than 50% of women arrived at the later phase of labor, 37 referrals were made to higher healthcare facilities and most of the women were anemic for which alerts were given. Daksh generated 141 complications alerts. Conclusion: Staff nurses and medical officers concluded that tablet-based partograph is better than paper partograph as it saves time and is easy to use. It is helpful for healthcare workers as it generates reminders and alerts for the patient. There is a need for technology in remote healthcare settings.