Multilingual voice-enabled informatics tools: catalyst for equitable AI in HIV and HIV-comorbidity healthcare management
Article
Oluwagbemi, O., Onyeka, E., Jatto, A., Oluwagbemi, F., Smith, S., Oyelami, O. and Fatumo, S. 2025. Multilingual voice-enabled informatics tools: catalyst for equitable AI in HIV and HIV-comorbidity healthcare management. PLoS ONE. 20 (10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332573
| Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Title | Multilingual voice-enabled informatics tools: catalyst for equitable AI in HIV and HIV-comorbidity healthcare management |
| Authors | Oluwagbemi, O., Onyeka, E., Jatto, A., Oluwagbemi, F., Smith, S., Oyelami, O. and Fatumo, S. |
| Abstract | Human Immunodeficiency Virus (henceforth HIV) is a global health problem, presently with no known cure. Africa has one of the highest incidences of HIV. Nigeria, within the West African (WA) region, is one of the largest economies on the continent. However, the country continues to struggle with HIV, with approximately 2 million individuals currently infected and experiencing ongoing transmissions. Management of the disease has been difficult due to communication barriers between English-speaking medical practitioners and indigenous patients in rural and suburban regions of the country and bordering countries. In this paper, we used fuzzy logic and voice-enabled technology to create WAHMIDS (West African HIV and HIV-comorbidity Multilingual Indigenous Diagnostic Software) and WAHMIMA (West African HIV Multilingual Informatics Mobile Application), which are health apps designed to help diagnose HIV and manage related health issues in both rural and urban areas for people who speak different indigenous languages in West Africa. Additionally, illustrations of the application of this tool to HIV diagnosis, using existing HIV data, are demonstrated. We expect that these tools will assist English-speaking medical workers and inhabitants of West African communities in their efforts to control HIV transmissions. These informatics tools have the potential to help prescribe medications for HIV and HIV-comorbidity patients. We anticipate that these informatics tools will help address healthcare disparities and promote diversity, equality, and inclusion by reducing the gaps in healthcare delivery between different regions and facilitating the collection of diverse patient data, which is essential for developing and planning more inclusive and accurate healthcare strategies in the West African sub-region. |
| Sustainable Development Goals | 3 Good health and well-being |
| Middlesex University Theme | Health & Wellbeing |
| Publisher | Public Library of Science |
| Journal | PLoS ONE |
| ISSN | |
| Electronic | 1932-6203 |
| Publication dates | |
| Online | 21 Oct 2025 |
| 21 Oct 2025 | |
| Publication process dates | |
| Submitted | 03 Jul 2024 |
| Accepted | 01 Sep 2025 |
| Deposited | 22 Oct 2025 |
| Output status | Published |
| Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
| Copyright Statement | © 2025 Oluwagbemi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332573 |
| PubMed ID | 41118361 |
| PubMed Central ID | PMC12539699 |
| Web of Science identifier | WOS:001598166800001 |
| National Library of Medicine ID | 101285081 |
https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/2x9zw8
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