Abstract
Air pollution is responsible for 4.2 million premature deaths every year. Studies have proven that Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, is one of more polluted cities in the world. As a result, Mongolia is suffering from major public health challenges. Mongolia currently lacks quality data, evidence and information to analyze and understand the full impact of air pollution on maternal and child health. This lack of understand has led to Family Health Centres (FHCs) and hospitals in Mongolia to be overwhelmed and unprepared to adequately treat air pollution related diseases. In response to this problem, UNICEF Mongolia and Ubilab will use User-Centered Design (UCD) and Zero-effort technology to create an online platform that will use predictive analytics to strengthen the understanding of the impact air pollution has on maternal and child health. This platform will better prepare healthcare practitioners to deal with the public health consequences associated with air pollution and the data generated from this platform will be used to inform policy, health care reforms, and develop educational materials. This study is a great opportunity to demonstrate how UCD and ZET can be effective to achieve goals within a global health perspective, but it would be challenging to overcome the economic and cultural barriers in the design and implementation process. However, if successful, this would enhance collaboration between environment and health-related institutions and can be implemented anywhere in the world, especially in areas where air pollution is a major problem.
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