POWER APP. The POWer (prosthesis, orthosis, and wheelchair empowerment and reintegration) app will enable barangay health workers (BHWs) to pre-assess mobility impairment among kids and teens. It contains a questionnaire that BHWs could use to determine mobility impairment among people up to 17 years old. (Photo courtesy of Philippine Council for Health Research and Development)
MANILA – A mobile application that seeks to empower barangay health workers (BHWs) to pre-assess mobility impairment among kids and teens is being prepared for rollout and testing in Quezon City.
The POWer (prosthesis, orthosis, and wheelchair empowerment and reintegration) app contains a questionnaire that BHWs could use to determine mobility impairment among people up to 17 years old.
"If they notice mobility impairment based on the answers to the questionnaire, level 2 assessment tools will be used to collect information and other details of the patient's problem. They will take a photo of the affected body part, and create an electronic medical record," project officer Geraldine Lim told the Philippine News Agency on Wednesday.
A rehabilitation specialist will receive this electronic record, and will recommend treatment options or facilities.
Lim said the questions are from the Washington/UNICEF Child Functioning Module,and the Gross Motor Function Classification System but were translated to Filipino. Among the questions that can be found in the app are:
1. Si (pangalan) ay gumagamit ba ng kahit anong kagamitan o tumatanggap ng tulong para sa paglalakad (Does [name] use any equipment or get assistance to walk)?
2. Kumpara sa mga batang kaparehong edad, si (pangalan) ba ay may kahirapang lumakad (Compared to children his/her age, does [name] have any difficulty walking)?
"There's a possibility that the child has physical deformity, or has a cerebral palsy," Lim said.
She said the project started in September 2021, and is expected to be finished by February 2023 as the app still needs additional testing.
Four barangays in Quezon City were selected for beta testing. The BHWs will be trained in using the app.
The project was funded by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development for PHP3.62 million.
It was supposed to be finished in a year, but project proponents asked for six months extension as the pandemic caused the delay in the assessment stage, Lim said.
The app was developed through a partnership between Tatum Quantum Headquarters, and the Physicians for Peace Philippines Inc. (PNA)
