Around 100 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in Assam have participated in a co-design workshop to help develop an AI-enabled training platform and multilingual voice chatbot aimed at strengthening cervical cancer screening and community counselling in rural areas.
The workshop was organised by The George Institute for Global Health India in collaboration with Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC).
Technology shaped by frontline workers
The workshop brought together ASHAs, doctors, trainers, programme coordinators, researchers and technologists. The ASHAs shared their experiences of supporting women through cervical cancer screening and identified challenges faced during household visits and community counselling.
The initiative is part of a three-year pilot study, Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Strengthening Cervical Cancer Screening Through Capacity Building, funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The project runs from November 2025 to November 2028.
The project aims to develop and test an AI-based learning platform for ASHAs, along with a multilingual voice chatbot that can answer field-related questions.
155 questions reviewed
As part of the workshop, ASHAs reviewed 155 common questions related to cervical cancer and screening. Using a bindi-based voting exercise, they identified questions they encounter most frequently from women, husbands, family members and others in their communities.
The exercise found that questions frequently raised in the field do not always correspond with issues considered clinically important. The findings will be used to develop the chatbot’s knowledge base, covering both priority health information and practical concerns faced by ASHAs.
The ASHAs also discussed their comfort with digital tools. While younger and middle-aged workers reported regular use of mobile phones for reporting and communication, some older ASHAs highlighted challenges with digital tools and language. However, they expressed willingness to improve their digital skills.
Voice-based support
ASHAs suggested voice-based interactions in Bangla, simple-language content and search functions that reflect how they naturally ask questions. They also proposed short audio-visual lessons, FAQs, reminders, quizzes and progress tracking.
Dr. Anita Gadgil, Principal Investigator of the project and Senior Research Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health, said the technology should be designed around the experience and needs of ASHAs.
“Their experience of explaining screening, responding to concerns and finding answers in real time will guide the language, content and functions of this AI platform,” Dr. Gadgil said.
The project team said all training content and chatbot questions will undergo clinical review and testing with ASHAs before rollout.
AI to complement existing training
The next phase will involve building the AI learning platform and chatbot. The intervention will subsequently be evaluated against standard training methods through a two-arm cluster-randomised controlled trial covering 20 clusters and around 110 ASHAs.
The study will assess usability, acceptance, usage and scalability, besides tracking changes in ASHAs’ knowledge, attitudes and practices.
The proposed chatbot is intended to provide training and field-based information to ASHAs and will not replace clinical assessment, diagnosis or referral pathways.