A model for national assessment of barriers for implementing digital technology interventions to improve hypertension management in the public health care system in India

• Authors: Shivani Patel, Emory University; Kushagra Vashist, Emory University; Prashant Jarhyan, Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, India; Hanspria Sharma, All India Institute of Medical Sciences; Priti Gupta, Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, India; Devraj Jindal, Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, India; Nikhil S Venkateshmurthy, Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, India; Lisa Pfadenhauer, Emory University; Sailesh Mohan, Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi; Nikhil Tandon, All India Institute of Medical Sciences
• Journal Title: BMC HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Volume: Volume 21, Number 1
• Publisher: BMC | 2021-10-15, Pages 1101-1101
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06999-9
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Epidemiology
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Health Care Sciences & Services; Hypertension; Management; Infrastructure; Digital technology; Public healthcare system; India

Abstract

Background: There is substantial interest in leveraging digital health technology to support hypertension management in low- and middle-income countries such as India. The potential for healthcare infrastructure and broader context to support such initiatives in India has not been examined. We evaluated existing healthcare infrastructure to support digital health interventions and examined epidemiologic, socioeconomic, and geographical contextual correlates of healthcare infrastructure in 544 districts covering 29 states and union territories across India. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional analysis of India’s Fourth District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-4; 2012–2014), the most up-to-date nationally representative district-level healthcare infrastructure data. Facilities were the unit of analysis, and analyses accounted for clustering within states. The main outcome was healthcare system infrastructural context to implement hypertension management programs. Domains included diagnostics (functional BP instrument), medications (anti-hypertensive medication in stock), essential clinical staff (e.g., staff nurse, medical officer, pharmacist), and IT specific infrastructure (regular power supply, internet connection, computer availability). Descriptive analysis was conducted for infrastructure indicators based on the Indian Public Health Standards, and logistic regression was conducted to estimate the association between epidemiologic and geographical context (exposures) and the composite measure of healthcare system. Results: Data from 32,215 government facilities were analyzed. Among lowest-tier subcenters, 30% had some IT infrastructure, while at the highest-tier district hospitals, 92% possessed IT infrastructure. At mid-tier primary health centres and community health centres, IT infrastructure availability was 28 and 51%, respectively. For all but sub-centres, the availability of essential staff was lower than the availability of IT infrastructure. For all but district hospitals, higher levels of blood pressure, body mass index, and urban residents were correlated with more favorable infrastructure. By region, districts in Western India tended towards having the best prepared health facilities. Conclusions: IT infrastructure to support digital health interventions is more frequently lacking at lower and mid-tier healthcare facilities compared with apex facilities in India. Gaps were generally larger for staffing than physical infrastructure, suggesting that beyond IT infrastructure, shortages in essential staff impose significant constraints to the adoption of digital health interventions. These data provide early benchmarks for state- and district-level planning.