Assam ASHAs to help design AI tools for cervical cancer screening

About 110 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in southern Assam's Barak Valley will contribute their field experience to the design of an Artificial Intelligence-enabled training platform and a multilingual voice chatbot aimed at improving cervical cancer screening and community counselling in rural areas.

The digital tools are being developed by The George Institute for Global Health India and the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. The activists shared their everyday difficulties with trainers, doctors, programme coordinators, researchers and technologists at a workshop held in Silchar.

The exercise is part of a three-year pilot study on using AI to make cervical cancer screening more effective, funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

At the workshop, the ASHAs reviewed 155 questions that people commonly ask about cervical cancer and screening. Using a simple voting method, they identified which of these come up most often in the field, posed by women, their husbands, family members and others in the community.

Experts who conducted the session observed that the questions ASHAs encounter most frequently are not always the same as those regarded as clinically important. These findings will feed into a chatbot knowledge base built to address both priority health information needs and the practical concerns activists meet during their work.

"This workshop started with a simple principle: technology for ASHAs should be designed with 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. We aim to develop clinically validated support that fits their work, rather than adding another digital burden," said Anita Gadgil, principal investigator of the project and a senior research fellow at The George Institute for Global Health.

The session also examined how comfortable the activists are with digital technology. Younger and middle-aged ASHAs reported using mobile phones regularly to report, communicate and access information. Those in older age groups said digital tools and language posed greater difficulty, but expressed a strong willingness to learn and gain confidence.

The ASHAs mapped their own career paths, covering training, keeping their knowledge current, counselling women on pregnancy or childbirth concerns, explaining test results and making appropriate referrals. Many recognised gaps in their knowledge during the exercise and discussed using aids such as flipcharts to refresh it when needed.

They also stressed the value of voice-based interaction in the local language, content in simple language and search functions that match the way ASHAs naturally frame questions. Suggested features included short audio-visual lessons, frequently asked questions, reminders, quizzes and progress tracking.

Cervical cancer remains a significant health concern in India, where gaps in awareness and screening continue to hinder early detection. ASHAs often bridge that gap by reaching women in their communities, explaining what screening involves and connecting them to care.