The Cervical Cancer Prevention and Training Centre (CCPTC) of the Battor Catholic Hospital in the Volta Region, has launched three mobile applications in its attempt to fight cervical cancer in the country.
The CCPTC Mobile Colposcopy App, CCPTC Cervical Ablative Treatment App and CCPTC Colposcopy Report Sheet were specifically designed to aid health workers involved in cervical screening with Mobile Colposcopy (Enhanced Visual Inspection with Acetic acid) as well as those who undertake cervical (pre) cancer screening including treatment of patients with ablation (cryotherapy, thermal coagulation) in the country.
The apps were uneveiled by Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Minister of Environment, Science Technology and Innovation, during a ceremony held at the Battor Catholic Hospital in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region, on Wednesday June 13, 2016.
Prof. Frimpong Boateng called on all Ghanaians to come out of their comfort zones and help create new things that would revolutionize the country and bring life and hope to all.
Dr Gloria Quansah-Asare, Deputy Director General of Ghana Health Service (GHS) who was excited by achievements chalked by the hospital in the area of cervical prevention and treatment lauded apps, which she said “fit into what Ghana Health Service is doing”.
On his part, Dr. Koku Awoonor-Williams, Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the GHS was worried the country is focusing so much on communicable diseases instead of the non-communicable diseases, which he said has a lot of challenges.
He disclosed the GHS is currently looking for ways to incorporate the non-communicable diseases into its CHPs program to help solve problems of cardiac diseases, sickle cells diseases as well as the cervical cancer diseases among others.
“Battor Hospital provides one of the answers that we’re looking for in the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer in the country that’s why we want to commend you,” Dr Awoonor-Williams said.
He pledges the GHS support towards the facility in their unrelenting fight against cervical cancer, adding, “we are already in discussion with Dr Kofi Effah, Director of CCPTC on how we can sponsor nurses in the country on community/CHPs level to undertake the cervical cancer training.”
The apps were jointly developed by a team from CCPTC led by Dr Kofi Effah and Dr David Olatayo Olayiwola.
In his presentation, Dr Olayiwola indicated the three mobile applications can be used to detect, prevent & treat cervical cancer.
He explained, for example, the CCPTC Mobile Colposcopy app guides the health worker in selecting the patient that will be screened based on her age and recommends subsequent screening schedules.
After the screening process, he said, if a lesion is found, the health worker is guided on the treatment to give to the patient.
About the CCPTC Cervical Ablative Treatment app, he indicated: “Just before the health worker begins to treat the patient, the CCPTC cervical ablative treatment app interacts with the health worker to alert him of contraindications to the treatment option which he/she has chosen for the patient.
“The steps involved have been broken down into 9 simple questions and the responses are colour coded GREEN which means that the patient can have ablation while RED means the patient is not fit for ablation.
“After the user has gone through this 9 questions,the app automatically decides whether the patient should be treated or not with ablative therapy”.
For the CCPTC Colposcopy Report Sheet, he maintained the app guides the user on how to analyse the images taken and provides a means to send such images to experts for further review and second opinion so that the patient gets the best of healthcare.
“It also boasts of an inbuilt camera which aids the health worker to capture the lesion in the cervix”.
Director of CCPTC, Dr Kofi Effah called on government not to only expand the Cervical Cancer Prevention and Training Centre at Battor Catholic but replicate it in many hospitals across the country so that women would have access to the healthcare delivery whenever they encounter such problem.
The three apps are currently available workers across the country and can be download at the
Google play store via:http://www.battorcervicalcentre.org
The programme was attended by notable personalities drawn from the Health Sector including the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service(GHS). Also present is the Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Hospital, Battor, Mr Simeon Amuzu, the Medical Superintendent and Gynecologist, Dr Bernard Hayford Atuguba, some nurses and students.
By Joseph Kobla Wemakor | Ghana
The post Battor Catholic Hospital launches mobile Apps to fight cervical cancer appeared first on 3newsgh.
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