Tags: Haiti, Healthcare, European Space Agency, Telemedicine 
Publication: Medicalxpress.com
Publication Date: 10/24/2012

Teachers from urban and rural areas in Haiti being trained to use the Safe Haiti interface Image credit: LIGI Portugal

The European Space Agency (ESA) is currently supporting a new technological development designed by The Institute for Space Medicine (MEDES) in France in conjunction with the Local Insight Global Impact (LIGI) in Portugal. This system uses satellite navigation and satellite telephone to provide access to trained healthcare professionals in places where they might be sparse and where communications are not reliable, such as Haiti.

After being hit by a devastating earthquake in 2010, health units in many Haitian regions are hard to find and don’t usually work effectively. Here, the system, dubbed Safe Haiti, has been used successfully by providing training for regular citizens to accurately report the symptoms of a patient.

The interface is very simple, similar to the one of a smartphone, which guides the user through a series of steps to provide the necessary data. This information is immediately sent to local and national health systems via SMS messages using satellite communications. Then, trained doctors in those facilities provide rapid, real-time feedback using the same system.

MEDES and LIGI are currently planning on expanding Safe Haiti to other regions of this country and continue to monitor and improve it.

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