Our research team has been using Open Data Kit on Tablet computer in rural clinics in South Africa to collect basic data on ARV, TB and chronic diseases. ODK allows xforms to be generated as a survey and works on Android tablets.
It reminds me on the Open.SC project where the Germany Charité instituion was mainly involved (unfortunately the website is only available in German: http://opensc.charite.de/
http://datacreativity.fh-potsdam.de/
Here is one of the links to a demonstrator: http://openscs1.charite.de/web/guest/subsite
As far as I understood in some less talks with the developers, the project was also planned to be used on mobile devices (scenario: the doctor goes with his tablet to the next patient and wants to inform about his medical developments). However, you should keep in mind that this administration software has a research background and was mainly to handle cancer diseas patients.
Perhaps their will be some other software that more useful in a more productive environment, but this is so far the only one, that try's to address this issue in a more specific and scientific way.
Thank you for your response - I use to be chair of the IMIA Open Source group and the new chair has database of such applications - also in German but English as well.
Yes we have for diabetic foot risk in rural & remote Western Australia
Here in Spain, there is a group in Extremadura, led by Dr. Juan Fernando Masa with an expertise in telemedicine in rural areas. You can find the papers in pubmed.
LAura - I could only find sleep telemedicine by Dr Masa nothing about rural survey using ODK
Yes we do the same in Ifakara, Tanzania, but in the community: we use ODK on Androids for a house-to-house cohort study on HIV and NCDs. Works well.
By direct contact with BM consultant, they developed a survey on ODK about 250 questions in Haiti, with very good results.
We have developed several iPad applications. We can adapt our system to your specific needs. See http://www.snappademics.com/for-clinics/
Let me take advantage of Deborah's post about diabetic foot. Do you have a link?
Eveline I see you have been using openxforms rather than ODK which has similar functions - do you have a website? I recently presented our work in New Zealand for the the HINZ conference and this is the presentation http://www.slideshare.net/HINZ/using-tablet-computers-to-collect-data-in-a-rural-clinic
Hi Graham.
You may want to look at our Magpi software (www.magpi.com), which allows the non-technical user to design forms and then deploy them on Android, iOS devices, Symbian phones, or even to collect data using basic SMS. Magpi also incorporates outgoing messaging, so you can use SMS or automated phone calls to help coordinate your data collection, or for other purposes. Messaging works in almost every country on Earth.
Both the forms and the messaging can be set up by any literate person in a matter of minutes to hours.
The basic use of Magpi is free, and is limited to uploading up to 500 completed forms per month (6000 per year). We have more than 25,000 users in more than 170 countries -- including UNICEF, World Bank, WHO, Camfed, JSI, Abt, HKI, Harvard, Hopkins, and many other prominent organizations -- so we know we must be doing something right. :-)
Happy to answer any questions.
Joel
Dear Joel
Sorry but I am anti any seller who rides on the back of others who have done all the work developing open source. I did look at EpiSurveyor before you changed the name.
In Africa we need large numbers of forms processed and have the ability to ODK which we can run on Androids and on our own servers at no cost.
I'm not sure what you mean about "rides on the backs of others", since Magpi is written by us from scratch.
As to the cost of ODK, yes it can be run "at no cost" . . . except for the cost of your servers and the technologists needed to run them. And the programmers to set up ODK. All of which, I suppose, cost nothing at all?
To run a basic Magpi implementation requires no servers, no technologists, and no programmers. Which makes it much cheaper than paying for the servers, technologists, and programmers required to set up and maintain ODK.
To run a paid Magpi implementation typically costs in the range of $5000 per year -- substantially less than the cost of the servers, technologists, and programmers required to set up and maintain ODK.
Even for very large activities, Magpi is still the less expensive option, by far. The organization Camfed, for example, runs a 5-country program with Magpi, collecting tens of thousands of data records per year for multiple forms -- and pays about $15,000 per year for all five countries COMBINED. That's less than the cost of a single programmer's salary needed to set up and maintain ODK.
Not to mention that with Magpi you won't spend a cent on tech consultant's airfare, per diem, hotel, etc.
Graham:
By now Joel may already hate me, as I have been using EpiSurveyor and then Magpi for years without paying a cent. We have used it in around 10 studies already, and I would not consider any of them "small". In the past we hired a programmer to set up a server and a data collection tool for mobile devices. I don't think we will go back to that. Even though my computer skills aren't great, I like the sens of control I have with Magpi. I no longer have to go trough the programmer. Of course if you want the data only in your own server, you will have to pay or check other options, like ODK.
No, Cesar, we don't hate you. You illustrate our mission perfectly: to make mobile data collection simple and affordable for everyone. 99% of our users pay nothing, and we love them all. :-)
We have used EpiSurveyor and MagPi for free for the last 5 years in rural areas in the Amazon and I really recomend it. We have also manage to send the data via SMS in those places where we can find some phone signal. We did not need any programmer, you can choose any of several languages you want and the data is directly exported to a database.
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