Design and Development of a mHealth Dementia Screening Tool in Resource-Limited Settings Lessons Learned from Designing for and with Community Health Workers in Peru

Marco Da Re; Fernanda Espinoza; Maria Veronica Belón-Hercilla; Cecilia Anza-Ramirez; Nilton Santos Custodio Capuñay; Rosa Montesinos Zevallos; Maria Sofia Cuba-Fuentes; Christopher R. Butler; Rafael A. Calvo

doi:10.1145/3706599.3706662

Design and Development of a mHealth Dementia Screening Tool in Resource-Limited Settings Lessons Learned from Designing for and with Community Health Workers in Peru

Marco Da Re
, Fernanda Espinoza
, Maria Veronica Belón-Hercilla
, Cecilia Anza-Ramirez
, Nilton Santos Custodio Capuñay
, Rosa Montesinos Zevallos
, Maria Sofia Cuba-Fuentes
, Christopher R. Butler
, Rafael A. Calvo

School of Medicine

Imperial College London
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
Instituto de Neurociencias Aplicadas
San Martin de Porres University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Dementia impacts millions worldwide, with rural regions of Latin America facing notable challenges in diagnosis and care. Digital healthcare tools, while potentially transformative, often fail in these areas due to lack of cultural integration, usability issues, and missing features, resulting in ineffective top-down solutions. This case study explores how Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) principles were applied in the design of a mobile health dementia screening system tailored for rural Peru. For 18 months, we engaged in an iterative participatory process with local community health workers (CHWs) and healthcare professionals. We detail how this process directly informed our design outcomes, ensuring the solution was adapted to the specific needs of the communities. In addition, the paper highlights key learnings for HCI practitioners and researchers working on similar projects. These insights underscore how participatory design approaches can lead to more effective socio-technical health solutions in resource-constrained settings.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CHI EA 2025 - Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400713958
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3706662
State	Published - 26 Apr 2025
Event	2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2025 - Yokohama, Japan Duration: 26 Apr 2025 → 1 May 2025

Publication series

Name	Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference	2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2025
Country/Territory	Japan
City	Yokohama
Period	26/04/25 → 1/05/25

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

community health workers
design methods
digital health
low-resource settings
mHealth design
participatory design
self-determination theory

Access to Document

10.1145/3706599.3706662

Cite this

Da Re, M., Espinoza, F., Belón-Hercilla, M. V., Anza-Ramirez, C., Capuñay, N. S. C., Zevallos, R. M., Cuba-Fuentes, M. S., Butler, C. R., & Calvo, R. A. (2025). Design and Development of a mHealth Dementia Screening Tool in Resource-Limited Settings Lessons Learned from Designing for and with Community Health Workers in Peru. In CHI EA 2025 - Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Article 667 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings ). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3706662

Da Re, Marco ; Espinoza, Fernanda ; Belón-Hercilla, Maria Veronica et al. / Design and Development of a mHealth Dementia Screening Tool in Resource-Limited Settings Lessons Learned from Designing for and with Community Health Workers in Peru. CHI EA 2025 - Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery, 2025. (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings ).

@inproceedings{34f4589c36e44909bb4737be656244d3,

title = "Design and Development of a mHealth Dementia Screening Tool in Resource-Limited Settings Lessons Learned from Designing for and with Community Health Workers in Peru",

abstract = "Dementia impacts millions worldwide, with rural regions of Latin America facing notable challenges in diagnosis and care. Digital healthcare tools, while potentially transformative, often fail in these areas due to lack of cultural integration, usability issues, and missing features, resulting in ineffective top-down solutions. This case study explores how Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) principles were applied in the design of a mobile health dementia screening system tailored for rural Peru. For 18 months, we engaged in an iterative participatory process with local community health workers (CHWs) and healthcare professionals. We detail how this process directly informed our design outcomes, ensuring the solution was adapted to the specific needs of the communities. In addition, the paper highlights key learnings for HCI practitioners and researchers working on similar projects. These insights underscore how participatory design approaches can lead to more effective socio-technical health solutions in resource-constrained settings.",

keywords = "community health workers, design methods, digital health, low-resource settings, mHealth design, participatory design, self-determination theory",

author = "\{Da Re\}, Marco and Fernanda Espinoza and Bel{\'o}n-Hercilla, \{Maria Veronica\} and Cecilia Anza-Ramirez and Capu{\~n}ay, \{Nilton Santos Custodio\} and Zevallos, \{Rosa Montesinos\} and Cuba-Fuentes, \{Maria Sofia\} and Butler, \{Christopher R.\} and Calvo, \{Rafael A.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).; 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2025 ; Conference date: 26-04-2025 Through 01-05-2025",

year = "2025",

month = apr,

day = "26",

doi = "10.1145/3706599.3706662",

language = "Ingl{\'e}s",

series = "Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings ",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery",

booktitle = "CHI EA 2025 - Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems",

}

Da Re, M, Espinoza, F, Belón-Hercilla, MV, Anza-Ramirez, C, Capuñay, NSC, Zevallos, RM, Cuba-Fuentes, MS, Butler, CR & Calvo, RA 2025, Design and Development of a mHealth Dementia Screening Tool in Resource-Limited Settings Lessons Learned from Designing for and with Community Health Workers in Peru. in CHI EA 2025 - Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems., 667, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings , Association for Computing Machinery, 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2025, Yokohama, Japan, 26/04/25. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3706662

Design and Development of a mHealth Dementia Screening Tool in Resource-Limited Settings Lessons Learned from Designing for and with Community Health Workers in Peru. / Da Re, Marco; Espinoza, Fernanda; Belón-Hercilla, Maria Veronica et al.
CHI EA 2025 - Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery, 2025. 667 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings ).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Design and Development of a mHealth Dementia Screening Tool in Resource-Limited Settings Lessons Learned from Designing for and with Community Health Workers in Peru

AU - Da Re, Marco

AU - Espinoza, Fernanda

AU - Belón-Hercilla, Maria Veronica

AU - Anza-Ramirez, Cecilia

AU - Capuñay, Nilton Santos Custodio

AU - Zevallos, Rosa Montesinos

AU - Cuba-Fuentes, Maria Sofia

AU - Butler, Christopher R.

AU - Calvo, Rafael A.

PY - 2025/4/26

Y1 - 2025/4/26

N2 - Dementia impacts millions worldwide, with rural regions of Latin America facing notable challenges in diagnosis and care. Digital healthcare tools, while potentially transformative, often fail in these areas due to lack of cultural integration, usability issues, and missing features, resulting in ineffective top-down solutions. This case study explores how Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) principles were applied in the design of a mobile health dementia screening system tailored for rural Peru. For 18 months, we engaged in an iterative participatory process with local community health workers (CHWs) and healthcare professionals. We detail how this process directly informed our design outcomes, ensuring the solution was adapted to the specific needs of the communities. In addition, the paper highlights key learnings for HCI practitioners and researchers working on similar projects. These insights underscore how participatory design approaches can lead to more effective socio-technical health solutions in resource-constrained settings.

AB - Dementia impacts millions worldwide, with rural regions of Latin America facing notable challenges in diagnosis and care. Digital healthcare tools, while potentially transformative, often fail in these areas due to lack of cultural integration, usability issues, and missing features, resulting in ineffective top-down solutions. This case study explores how Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) principles were applied in the design of a mobile health dementia screening system tailored for rural Peru. For 18 months, we engaged in an iterative participatory process with local community health workers (CHWs) and healthcare professionals. We detail how this process directly informed our design outcomes, ensuring the solution was adapted to the specific needs of the communities. In addition, the paper highlights key learnings for HCI practitioners and researchers working on similar projects. These insights underscore how participatory design approaches can lead to more effective socio-technical health solutions in resource-constrained settings.

KW - community health workers

KW - design methods

KW - digital health

KW - low-resource settings

KW - mHealth design

KW - participatory design

KW - self-determination theory

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105005763172

U2 - 10.1145/3706599.3706662

DO - 10.1145/3706599.3706662

M3 - Contribución a la conferencia

AN - SCOPUS:105005763172

T3 - Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

BT - CHI EA 2025 - Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

PB - Association for Computing Machinery

T2 - 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2025

Y2 - 26 April 2025 through 1 May 2025

ER -

Da Re M, Espinoza F, Belón-Hercilla MV, Anza-Ramirez C, Capuñay NSC, Zevallos RM et al. Design and Development of a mHealth Dementia Screening Tool in Resource-Limited Settings Lessons Learned from Designing for and with Community Health Workers in Peru. In CHI EA 2025 - Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery. 2025. 667. (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings ). doi: 10.1145/3706599.3706662

Design and Development of a mHealth Dementia Screening Tool in Resource-Limited Settings Lessons Learned from Designing for and with Community Health Workers in Peru

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this