Building a tactical medical chatbot for conflict and low-resource settings: A low-code platform approach

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Global Health
• Medical Informatics

Background:

• Conflict zones present significant barriers to healthcare access, impacting millions globally.
• Lack of standardized medical guidance in crisis settings exacerbates healthcare disparities.
• Digital health tools, including chatbots and telemedicine, can potentially improve care delivery in underserved regions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a low-code Tactical Medical (TacMed) Chatbot for frontline responders.
• To deliver life-saving medical protocols in low-resource and conflict environments.
• To assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the TacMed Chatbot.

Main Methods:

• User-centered design approach for chatbot development and evaluation.
• Low-code platform utilized for rapid development, integrating established trauma care protocols.
• Feedback gathered through surveys, usage metrics, and technical logs from diverse users.

Main Results:

• Over 32,000 messages exchanged by 503 unique users within 90 days.
• Peak user engagement observed, followed by a decline, indicating potential user retention challenges.
• Preliminary data suggests the chatbot's utility in providing medical information.

Conclusions:

• The TacMed Chatbot demonstrates potential for enhancing trauma care access in conflict zones.
• Further development, including AI integration and offline capabilities, is recommended.
• Future research, such as randomized controlled trials, is necessary to confirm impact on emergency response.