The AMPATH Nutritional Information System: Designing a Food Distribution Electronic Record System in Rural Kenya
- Jason LitJeh Lim,
- Yuehwern Yih,
- Catherine Gichunge,
- William M Tierney,
- Tung H Le,
- Jun Zhang,
- Mark A Lawley,
- Tomeka J Petersen,
- Joseph J Mamlin
- Affiliations of the authors: School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, West Lafayette, IN; Academic Model for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS, Eldoret, Kenya; School of Medicine, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya; Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND; Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
- Correspondence: Yuehwern Yih, PhD, School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, 315 N. Grant St., Grissom Hall, 261. West Lafayette, IN 47907-2023; e-mail: <yih{at}purdue.edu>
- Received 14 January 2009
- Accepted 3 August 2009
Abstract
Objective The AMPATH program is a leading initiative in rural Kenya providing healthcare services to combat HIV. Malnutrition and food insecurity are common among AMPATH patients and the Nutritional Information System (NIS) was designed, with cross-functional collaboration between engineering and medical communities, as a comprehensive electronic system to record and assist in effective food distribution in a region with poor infrastructure.
Design The NIS was designed modularly to support the urgent need of a system for the growing food distribution program. The system manages the ordering, storage, packing, shipping, and distribution of fresh produce from AMPATH farms and dry food supplements from the World Food Programme (WFP) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) based on nutritionists' prescriptions for food supplements. Additionally, the system also records details of food distributed to support future studies.
Measurements Patients fed weekly, patient visits per month.
Results With inception of the NIS, the AMPATH food distribution program was able to support 30,000 persons fed weekly, up from 2,000 persons. Patient visits per month also saw a marked increase.
Conclusion The NIS' modular design and frequent, effective interactions between developers and users has positively affected the design, implementation, support, and modifications of the NIS. It demonstrates the success of collaboration between engineering and medical communities, and more importantly the feasibility for technology readily available in a modern country to contribute to healthcare delivery in developing countries like Kenya and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
Footnotes
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This work was supported by a contract with the Indiana University Kenya Partnership and USAID through the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The authors would also like to thank the Indiana University School of Medicine AMPATH program and the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering for generating the research work leading to the development of the NIS. Special mention goes to Dr. Joe Mamlin, Dr. Bill Tierney, Tomeka Petersen, Catherine Gichunge, Johnson Kimeu, Ada Yeung, Paul Biondich, and Ben Wolfe for the many ways they contributed to the development of the system.
