WSSU researchers use mobile app technology to improve healthcare efficiency and worker safety
A team of researchers, led by Dr. Muztaba Fuad, professor and interim chair of computer science at Winston-Salem State University, are pioneering the use of mobile apps to make healthcare work more efficient.
This project is funded by a nearly $300,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant and uses mobile crowdsensing technology to track how healthcare workers move around in hospitals and clinics. By studying these movement patterns, the team hopes to find ways to improve workflow and resource use.
The researchers are using methods similar to COVID-19 contact tracing to track indoor movements. They are working with the Community Care Center, which provides free healthcare to low-income, uninsured patients. The goal is to improve the layout of the clinic and make daily operations smoother.
Dr. Nancy Smith, a physical therapy professor and co-leader of the project, explained that the study focuses on how physical therapists move and the postures they use while treating patients. By making clinic spaces more efficient and teaching proper body mechanics, the project aims to prevent injuries, give providers more time with patients, and reduce healthcare costs.
WSSU students – both graduate and undergraduate – are helping with the research by tracking their own movements and postures. Fuad said two different types of data are being collected: students’ real-time posture and the Bluetooth’s signal strength of their device from the monitoring device, which is then used to calculate the distance and location inside the clinic.
Paul Jeffrey, CEO of the Community Care Center, supports the project, saying it will help make the workplace safer and more efficient for healthcare providers.
Tameron Hill, a WSSU physical therapy student, stressed the importance of this research. Studies show that up to 90 percent of physical therapists suffer work-related injuries, with half of them occurring within their first five years. The project aims to identify bad postures and find ways to reduce these risks.
This research shows how technology can improve healthcare by making work environments safer and improving patient care. The goal is to make recommendations from the lessons learned in the research and the mobile app, and to develop a process for anyone to use the app to optimize their layout.
Other key researchers on the project include Dr. Debzani Deb, a WSSU computer science professor, and Dr. Tiffany Adams, a physical therapy professor at Duke University.
