Effectiveness of Virtual Baithak for Eye Health Literacy in Older Adults in Rural India

01 Apr 20265 min read0 viewsJournal Feed

GIST

Introduction Settings with insufficient human resources struggle to provide timely eye care services and information to the population. mHealth (mobile healthcare) is a promising solution; however, evidence on the effectiveness of interactive voice response (IVR) and real-time phone-based education remains scarce, despite their potential to be scalable and cost-effective.

This study aims to implement the Virtual Baithak , an interactive mHealth platform, to improve eye-health literacy among older adults residing in rural India. The objectives are to (1) Develop and validate the Virtual Baithak for improving vision health and (2) Determine its effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability among the older adults.

Methods and analysis This 3-armed, parallel, randomised controlled trial of 14 months duration will enrol 381 older adults (aged 60 years and above). Participants will be blinded and randomly (computer-generated) assigned to either of the three groups based on the intervention for eye-health education they receive: both IVR and group calls moderated by a healthcare professional, only IVR and usual care.

Clinical Editorial

Study Focus and Design

This BMJ Open protocol describes the Virtual Baithak trial, an mHealth initiative aimed at boosting eye health literacy among rural-dwelling older adults in India.
It uses a 3-arm, parallel randomized design over 14 months with 381 participants aged 60 years and above.
Allocation is 1:1:1 by computer-generated randomization into: (a) both interactive voice response (IVR) and group calls moderated by a healthcare professional, (b) IVR only, and (c) usual care.

Intervention content and implementation

The Virtual Baithak platform will deliver weekly eye-health education information to participants for a 3-month period.
Content development will employ participatory methods and will be delivered in locally relevant language options (Punjabi and Hindi).
A formative qualitative phase informs the design, followed by a pragmatic randomized trial to assess real-world applicability.

Outcomes and analysis

Primary outcomes are digital health literacy and vision health knowledge, evaluated at baseline and 14 months.
Secondary outcomes include acceptance and use of mobile health technology.
A mixed-method process evaluation will examine feasibility and implementation, incorporating in-depth interviews with participants.
Qualitative data will be analyzed thematically; quantitative data will be analyzed with linear mixed models.

Context, ethics, and dissemination

The trial has ethics approval from the Institute Ethics Committee, PGIMER, Chandigarh, and is registered with the Clinical Trials Registry of India.
The study adheres to the Declaration of Helsinki and SPIRIT guidelines; reporting will follow CONSORT standards.
Dissemination plans include national and international presentations and publications.

Contextual considerations and limitations

The study emphasizes a community-based, region-specific approach with local language support; findings may have limited generalizability to other regions without adaptation.
The p rotocol notes the focus on short-term outcomes, with long-term behavioral and health effects not being measured within this design.
Patient or public involvement in design and dissemination is described as minimal beyond participants serving as intervention recipients.

Scope and relevance

The protocol situates the intervention within broader concerns about aging populations, ophthalmic disease burden, and the shortage of eye care professionals in low-resource settings.
It frames mHealth as a scalable, potentially cost-effective strategy to improve eye health literacy and engagement, while acknowledging challenges in user acceptance, cultural relevance, and usability.