The University of Birmingham & Sri Lanka receive £3.8 million

Sri Lanka needs healthcare innovation as the number of people suffering from multiple long-term conditions continues to rise.

Health experts from The University of Birmingham and Sri Lanka have secured £3.8 million in funding. The focus is to develop, implement and evaluate a digitally integrated care pathway across Sri Lankan health records.

The funding comes from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) via the Research on Interventions for Global Health Transformation (RIGHT) programme.

The RIGHT programme funds interdisciplinary applied health research in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The goal is to enhance patient experience and develop a better care plan for individuals with multiple long-term conditions.

A growing number of individuals are facing multiple health issues globally. This is partly due to increased life expectancy and unhealthy lifestyles.

The study will use advanced digital technologies to create a comprehensive care pathway for managing a combination of conditions.

Conditions include diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and mental health issues.

The UK-Sri Lanka partnership will see UOB experts work with counterparts from the University of Jaffna, Colombo, Kelaniya and Sabaragamuwa in Sri Lanka.

The partnership focuses on creating and piloting the digitally integrated care pathway.

Professor Krishnarajah Nirantharakumar, from the University of Birmingham and NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, asserted:

“This project represents a significant step forward in our efforts to harness digital technologies to improve healthcare delivery in resource-limited settings.

“We are excited to work with our partners in Sri Lanka to develop solutions that can make a real difference in the lives of patients with multiple long-term conditions.”

The importance of this project cannot be underestimated.

Recent research in Sri Lanka shows that 32% of people aged 50 or older had multiple long-term conditions. This increased to 46% when additional conditions were considered.

The research project has several parts that will lead to developing and evaluating the digitally integrated care pathway.

One focus is on establishing a nationwide digital pathway that meets the needs of patients and healthcare providers.

Another strand of the project is to train and support local experts to lead the use of the digital pathway.

The digital pathway will connect to an electronic patient record system called OpenMRS to ease access.

This project could significantly transform healthcare delivery in Sri Lanka, offering efficient care for those with multiple chronic conditions.

The project aims to create sustainable health improvements and empower healthcare providers for the long term by integrating digital solutions and local expertise.