Access to healthcare remains a major challenge for people around the world. Many people must travel long distances, take time off from work, or find child care to get the care they need. These barriers can lead to delayed diagnosis, postponed treatment, and even serious emergencies.
The lack of accurate, up-to-date data to inform community decisions remains a persistent problem for public health officials and governments. We've found solutions that work in unexpected places. It's Google Maps travel information.
Understanding geography and access to health care
Emergency obstetric care is one area where these access challenges are particularly pressing. Evidence shows that long travel times from home to health care facilities significantly impact pregnancy and birth outcomes for mothers and newborns. In fact, timely access to emergency obstetric care (EmOC) can reduce maternal deaths by up to 50% and intrapartum stillbirths by a similar amount. As 75%.
Traditionally, access to these services has been estimated based on geographic distance. But anyone who lives in a densely populated city knows that just because you're near a facility doesn't mean you'll be able to get to it quickly. Traffic jams can turn a short distance into a long journey.
This has changed our understanding of the problem. It's not just women in remote areas who struggle to get immediate medical attention when it matters most. This is a similar challenge in urban areas. So last year, we partnered with the OnTIME consortium to explore Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, which accounts for nearly a third of maternal deaths worldwide and where more than 50% of the population lives in dense urban areas. provided travel time insights to decision makers. Together, we created a tool that uses insights from Google Maps to identify hotspot areas where women take longer to receive treatment. The dashboard estimates travel times to the nearest, second-closest, and third-closest emergency obstetric care facilities by region, and provides an estimate of the expected travel time for a pregnant woman to reach a facility where she can receive emergency care. Show. obstetric care.
We help public health officials, researchers, and others who need data-driven insights pinpoint areas with limited access to EmOC and plan improvements to road infrastructure and ambulance routes. and wanted to be able to upgrade or build new facilities. For example, it has helped organizations like Emergency Response Africa make informed decisions about resource allocation. And I hope it helps others understand the relationship between geography and socio-economic equity.
expand access to care
We are also helping to shape the conversation around inequities in access to EmOC care. Beyond EmOC care, we are also working with other partners in the public health sector to address access challenges, including access to broader care, as well as access to vaccination sites, parks and other outdoor spaces. We're working to get a more accurate picture.
We have long explored ways in which AI can address access challenges, such as developing AI models to detect tuberculosis on chest X-rays or interpret the size and position of a fetus during pregnancy. I did. We brought these models to handheld devices, making them easy to use in the community without the need for health care workers to visit clinics for these important tests. Our tools, including Open Health Stack, help developers around the world adopt healthcare data standards in their apps.
We continue to explore new ways our technology can bring health care to more people. Whether it's introducing new tools, enabling more research, or finding creative ways to use our products, we continue to help people around the world live healthier lives.
