IDRC-funded telehealth program selected as a laureate of the Global South eHealth Observatory

 
Atipan+, a telehealth program of the Center for Informatics of the University of San Agustin in Iloilo City, the Philippines, serves marginalized Indigenous and rural low-income communities.
A health coordinator facilitates a telehealth consultation.
Lucy Tahan (right), Atipan’s health coordinator in the Katikati community in Guimaras, the Philippines, facilitates a telehealth consultation.

Originating from the Center for Informatics’ Atipan Project, Atipan+ is a social protection program for vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been selected as an e-health observatory project for 2024 by the Observatoire de la e-Santé dans les pays du Sud/Global South eHealth Observatory (ODESS). Atipan+ is one of 15 projects funded by IDRC through a subgrant to the Global South AI4PEP Network led by Jude Kong of York University, in Toronto, Canada.  

AI4PEP, or Artificial Intelligence for Pandemic and Epidemic Preparedness, is an IDRC-supported program that fosters innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) from Global South researchers to better prepare their countries for the next pandemic.  

When data started flowing through the electronic medical record utilized in telehealth, project leader Romulo de Castro realized the potential for AI. Atipan+ uses the data generated from telehealth consultations for disease surveillance through AI and to predict the mental health impact of public health emergencies. 

“AI will play a big role in mental health care soon,” said de Castro. 

A map of the Atipan+ communities in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.
Atipan+ communities in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.

Telehealth and disease surveillance are especially important in underserved communities. The combination of limited access to quality health care and scarce localized information about disease transmission and control leads to the rapid spread of infectious diseases.

Unique among AI4PEP projects, Atipan+ focuses on mental health and is developing epidemiological models, logistical tools and relevant capacities for tackling the crisis (in mental health) that usually follows. The uptick in mental health illnesses after COVID-19, especially among vulnerable populations, including  youth, women, Indigenous people and rural and low-income populations, is thought to be deepened by the lack of available mental health-care providers to diagnose and treat patients. 

The ODESS selection will allow the team to present at the ODESS conference and workshop in Lavaur, France, in October 2024. The event will generate exposure for Atipan’s innovations in health-care access, community partnerships, AI, gender justice, continuity of care and ongoing mental health. 

In addition to this recognition by ODESS, Atipan received three awards at the Asian Development Bank Civil Society Organizations Conference in September 2023 for outstanding communications, innovative implementation and community engagement, and maximizing gender benefits.  

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