title: The hackathon model to spur innovation around global mHealth.
abstract: The challenge of providing quality healthcare to underserved populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has attracted increasing attention from information and communication technology (ICT) professionals interested in providing societal impact through their work. Sana is an organisation hosted at the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that was established out of this interest. Over the past several years, Sana has developed a model of organising mobile health bootcamp and hackathon events in LMICs with the goal of encouraging increased collaboration between ICT and medical professionals and leveraging the growing prevalence of cellphones to provide health solutions in resource limited settings. Most recently, these events have been based in Colombia, Uganda, Greece and Mexico. The lessons learned from these events can provide a framework for others working to create sustainable health solutions in the developing world.
authors.affiliation: a University of Western Macedonia , Kozani , Greece.
authors.forename: Pantelis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Angelidis
authors.affiliation: b United Nations Population Fund , New York , NY , USA.
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.affiliation: c Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey , Monterrey , Mexico.
authors.forename: Maria de la Luz
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Casas-Perez
authors.affiliation: d Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , MA , USA.
authors.forename: Leo Anthony
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Celi
authors.affiliation: e Athens University School of Medicine , Trikala , Greece.
authors.forename: George E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Dafoulas
authors.affiliation: d Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , MA , USA.|f Department of Emergency Medicine , Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Boston , MA , USA.
authors.forename: Alon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dagan
authors.affiliation: g Escuela de Ingenieria de Antioquia , Envigado , Colombia.
authors.forename: Braiam
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Escobar
authors.affiliation: h University of Regensburg Medical Center , Regensberg , Germany.
authors.forename: Diego M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: c Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey , Monterrey , Mexico.
authors.forename: Julieta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Noguez
authors.affiliation: g Escuela de Ingenieria de Antioquia , Envigado , Colombia.
authors.forename: Juan Sebastian
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Osorio-Valencia
authors.affiliation: b United Nations Population Fund , New York , NY , USA.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Otine
authors.affiliation: d Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , MA , USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.affiliation: i Universidad del Cauca , Popayan , Colombia.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rojas-Potosi
authors.affiliation: j Aristotle University of Thessaloniki , Thessaloniki , Greece.
authors.forename: Andreas L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Symeonidis
authors.affiliation: d Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , MA , USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Winkler
mesh_terms: D040421:Cell Phone; D003105:Colombia; D003153:Community Health Services; D014943:Global Health; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008800:Mexico; D063731:Mobile Applications; D011340:Problem Solving; D017216:Telemedicine; D014454:Uganda
keywords: Sana; global health; hackathon; health informatics; mHealth