RCHE research scientist Haque receives NIH funding to help children with autism spectrum disorder
July 18, 2018
In Bangladesh, social-cultural-financial constraints and a scarcity of mental health care practitioners has deprived families raising children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from regular monitoring, care, and support. However, the overwhelming adoption of mobile phones in Bangladesh in recent years has created an opportunity to improve the existing practice of care using affordable mobile applications.
RCHE research scientist and principal investigator Md. Munirul Haque along with Marquette University professor Shik Iqbal Ahamed, Purdue professor A.J. Schwichtenberg, and University of Toronto professor Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to design, build, deploy, and study the impact of a mobile application (mCARE) as an evidence-based and data-driven remote behavioral monitoring platform for the care practitioners of children with ASD. The design of mCARE will follow Value Sensitive Design (VSD) approach to ensure a tight integration with the local economic, social, and cultural values in Bangladesh.
mCARE will be tested with caregivers of 300 children with ASD in Bangladesh for one year. The children will be selected from four reputed ASD care institutions in Bangladesh - two government and two privately owned, situated in two different districts. They are - the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Institute of Pediatric Neuro-disorder & Autism (IPNA), Autism Welfare Foundation (AWF), and “Nishpap”. The participants will cover a wide range of socio-economic and cultural diversity in Bangladesh.
Haque commented that “Although our focus in this study is children in Bangladesh, the proposed ESM application and corresponding practitioner-centered data platform can be adapted to improve practitioner-family communications and treatment management for children with ASD in the US as well. It is particularly suited for children living in rural locations.”
Contact Details
- Md Munirul Haque
- mhaque@purdue.edu
