Istiaq Ahmed
- Research Assistant, HCI Wing
Research Interests
mHealth, Human-Computer Interaction, Cross-Platform App/Website Development
Conference Paper2026Cited by 1
Evaluating cultural and technical barriers in gestational diabetes and gestational weight gain mhealth applications for lmic with user-centered analysis
Istiaq Ahmed, Faiza Omar Arpita, Deawan Rakin Ahamed Remal, Sinthia Chowdhury, Ashraful Islam, M Ashraful Amin
2026 7th International Conference on Mobile Computing and Sustainable Informatics (ICMCSI)
In: 2026 7th International Conference on Mobile Computing and Sustainable Informatics (ICMCSI)
IEEE, pp. 807-814
Abstract
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) and Gestational Weight Gain (GWG) present significant public health challenges globally, with particularly severe implications in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). While mobile health (mHealth) applications offer potential for self-management support, existing solutions demonstrate substantial limitations when evaluated through a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) lens. This study presents a systematic heuristic evaluation of ten leading mHealth applications across four categories: native GDM applications, clinical/research platforms, general diabetes tools, and pregnancy trackers. Our analysis identifies critical design failures, including fragmented data integration, poor usability, and the absence of trauma-informed protocols. Furthermore, we examine the specific contextual barriers that make these applications ineffective in Bangladesh, including digital infrastructure limitations, cultural dietary practices, and gendered technology access. Based on these findings, we propose a comprehensive design framework emphasizing voice-first interfaces, offline-first architecture, and culturally appropriate nutritional guidance to support effective GDM and GWG management in LMIC contexts.
Keywords
Gestational diabetesmHealthWeight gainGestationDiabetes mellitusBirth weight
CCDS Authors
Deawan Rakin Ahamed Remal
- Research Assistant, HCI Wing
Research Interests
Natural Language Processing, Health Informatics, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Vision
Ashraful Islam, PhD
- Center Director, CCDS
- Director, HCI Wing
Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)Research Interests
Human-Computer Interaction, AI for Social Good, AI for Public Health, AI for Impact
M Ashraful Amin, PhD
- Founder Director, CCDS
- Director, AI/ML, HCI & DS Wings
Research Interests
Machine Learning, Cognitive & Vision Science, Cybernetics, Surveillance & Security, ICT in Education, Health, & Agriculture, Human-Computer Interaction, Internet of Things, Robotics
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Cited By
- 1.Faiza Omar Arpita, Istiaq Ahmed, Joye Banik, Ashraful Islam, M. Ashraful Amin. (2026). Co-Designing a Culturally Tailored mHealth App for Gestational Diabetes and Excessive Gestational Weight Gain Management in Bangladesh. Lecture notes in computer science, 28–48[10.1007/978-3-032-30549-7_2]