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WHO’s skin mobile application as an educational tool for frontline health workers

1 Jul 2024

WHO’s skin mobile application as an educational tool for frontline health workers

Authors: José Antonio Ruiz Postigo [1]

  1. Skin NTDs Team, Global NTDs Programme, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.

Conflict of interest: None

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released an enhanced version of its Skin NTDs App, a valuable tool designed to assist frontline health workers in diagnosing and managing skin-related neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs) and common skin diseases. The updated app is now available free of charge on both Android and iOS-Apple devices.

To ensure a smooth installation, users may need to delete the previous version from their devices.

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Fig 1. WHO Skin NTDs App homepage.

This exciting development is the result of a collaborative effort between WHO and Until No Leprosy Remains (NLR). NLR generously transferred the content of its SkinApp, which encompassed information on skin NTDs, 24 common skin diseases and some HIV-related skin conditions, to the WHO Skin NTDs App. This collaboration has resulted in a comprehensive and user-friendly resource that aligns with the latest WHO recommendations.

Key features of the updated app include:

  • Two offline algorithms: the app operates offline and employs algorithms to assist frontline health workers in making accurate diagnoses and treatment decisions. One algorithm specifically addresses 12 skin NTDs and another one includes 24 common skin diseases
  • Multilingual support: the app is available in English and French, with plans to translate it into other languages, such as Kinyarwanda, Portuguese and Spanish, to better serve diverse communities.
  • Learning resources: the app includes a ‘Skin NTDs Learning’ section, offering valuable training materials. This content is derived from the WHO manual ‘Recognizing neglected tropical diseases through changes on the skin: a training guide for front-line health workers’.1
  • Filtering by country: a unique feature of the app is the ‘Global Index’. This section shows which skin NTDs are endemic in each country and information has been embedded in the diagnosis tool to fine tune the list of diseases suspected in each case.
Fig 2. Examples of screenshots from Skin NTDs App.

WHO encourages all users to download the app, to share it within their networks and to provide valuable feedback for ongoing improvements. Together, we can empower frontline health workers with the knowledge and resources needed to combat skin NTDs effectively.

Download the Skin NTD App in the App Store
Download the Skin NTD App in the Google Play Store

References
  1. World Health Organization. Recognizing neglected tropical diseases through changes on the skin: a training guide for front-line health workers. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/272723 (last accessed 14 March 2024).