Assam ASHAs’ field inputs to shape AI cervical cancer screening tool

The field experiences of about 110 Accredited Social Health Activists will be used to design an Artificial Intelligence-enabled training platform and a multilingual voice chatbot for cervical cancer screening and community counselling in rural Assam.

The George Institute for Global Health India and Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in southern Assam’s Barak Valley will develop the digital tools on the basis of inputs shared by the ASHAs.

Workshop in Silchar under three-year pilot study

The ASHAs shared their day-to-day challenges with a team of trainers, doctors, programme coordinators, researchers, and technologists at a workshop in Silchar.

The workshop, organised recently, was part of a three-year pilot study on leveraging AI for more effective cervical cancer screening.

The study is funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

At the workshop, the ASHAs discussed the challenges they face in routine field work, the kind of support that would actually help them, and the ways in which technology could make community visits and counselling easier.

They reviewed 155 common questions that people ask about cervical cancer and screening.

Using a simple voting system, the ASHAs identified which questions were raised most frequently in the field by women, husbands, family members, and others in their communities.

Field questions to guide chatbot knowledge base

According to experts who conducted the workshop, the exercise showed that the questions ASHAs face most often in the field are not always the same as those considered clinically important.

The experts said these insights will inform the development of a chatbot knowledge base that addresses both priority health information needs and the practical concerns ASHAs encounter during their work.

“This workshop started with a simple principle: technology for ASHAs should be designed with ASHAs.

Their experience of explaining screening, responding to concerns, and finding answers in real time will guide the language, content, and functions of this AI platform.

We aim to develop clinically validated support that fits their work, rather than adding another digital burden,” Anita Gadgil, principal investigator of the project and senior research fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, said.

Digital comfort and learning needs

The workshop also explored the ASHAs’ comfort and confidence with digital technology.

Younger and middle-aged ASHAs said they regularly use mobile phones to report, communicate, and access information.

ASHAs in older age groups said digital tools and language are more challenging for them.

They also expressed a strong willingness to learn and become more confident in using such tools.

This feedback is relevant to the design of the proposed platform because the tool is intended to support ASHAs in the work they already do, rather than create an additional digital burden.

The ASHAs further highlighted the value of voice-based interactions in the local language.

They also emphasised the need for simple-language content and search functions that reflect how ASHAs naturally ask questions.

Among the features suggested by the ASHAs were short audio-visual lessons, frequently asked questions, reminders, quizzes, and progress tracking.

ASHAs map counselling and referral work

During the workshop, the ASHAs mapped out their career paths, including training and staying sharp on what they had learned.

They also discussed counselling women on pregnancy or childbirth concerns, walking people through test results, and making the right referrals.

Through this process, many ASHAs recognised gaps in their knowledge.

They discussed using tools such as flipcharts to brush up when needed.

The discussion on career paths added to the workshop’s focus on how support tools could fit into the actual tasks ASHAs perform in the community.

Why the project matters

Cervical cancer is a major health concern in India.

Gaps in awareness and screening continue to get in the way of early detection.

ASHAs often bridge that gap by reaching women in their communities.

They explain what screening involves and connect women to care.

The planned AI-enabled training platform and multilingual voice chatbot are therefore being shaped around the field realities ASHAs described, including the questions they receive, the language support they need, and the digital formats they said would help them work more confidently.

The development process described at the Silchar workshop places ASHAs’ own experience at the centre of the proposed technology for cervical cancer screening and counselling in rural Assam.

Source: The Hindu