JanamApp

Professor Angie Doshani, Founder, JanamApp

JanamApp is a digital health platform developed to tackle perinatal inequalities and improve
informed decision-making among ethnically diverse birthing people, with a particular focus on South
Asian women. The Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE) reports have consistently highlighted significantly poorer maternal outcomes among women from South Asian backgrounds, driven by a combination of communication barriers, systemic inequalities, and challenges in accessing culturally and linguistically appropriate care.

JanamApp directly addresses these gaps. It provides audio-visual, culturally sensitive maternity content in multiple South Asian languages—Urdu, Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil and Bengali—improving patient experience with accessible, culturally resonant content and supporting women with limited English proficiency or low health literacy. The platform was co-produced with pregnant women and healthcare professionals to ensure content is relevant, understandable, and accessible.

JanamApp supports staff with translated, standardised information, reducing repeat consultations and reliance on interpreters. It mitigates the risks of miscommunication in maternity care and empowers birthing people to engage confidently in their own care journey. The app is designed for use both at home and within clinical settings, including installation on hospital iPads and community midwife devices, helping overcome digital poverty.

The innovation aligns with NHS priorities by supporting prevention and self-management, reducing unnesessary GP / emergency attendances through early triage and digital education and replacing printed materials with digital tools, improving cost efficiency. It also contributes to the NHS Net Zero agenda by reducing unnecessary travel, interpreter use, and paper consumption. JanamApp enhances clinical efficiency, supports workforce wellbeing by reducing communication burdens, and improves patient experience through inclusive and trusted information delivery while demonstrating scalable impact in reducing inequalities and improving care quality.

“JanamApp has transformed how we communicate with our South Asian patients. It saves staff time and improves patient confidence in their care”

• 8000+ South Asian women and birthing people have used JanamApp

• Implemented across 3 NHS trusts to date - Contracts signed with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, University Hospitals of Burton and Derby, and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Several other trusts are in advanced stages of procuring JanamApp

• Pilot evaluations show JanamApp is associated with significantly reduced missed maternity appointments, bringing rates among some South Asian groups in line with white women and saving an estimated £9–12k during the pilot

• Reduced use of interpreter time

• DTAC (Digital Technology Assessment Criteria) compliant, meeting NHS standards for safety, security, interoperability, and usability

• Certified with Cyber Essentials, demonstrating robust data security and protection

• Supported 3 jobs through SBRI funding phases

• Key partnerships with the charities Sands and ICP Support

• Accepted onto the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, the HIEM Digital Accelerator, and NHS Innovation Accelerator Programme

“Our local population is very diverse, and we feel that this app improves access for some of
our most vulnerable groups as it supports women to make informed decisions about their maternity care”

October 2025