Impulso Previne

ImpulsoGov

Impulso Previne

Impulso Previne is a free and open-source solution that empowers Brazil’s public health teams to deliver preventive care to millions of people.

São Paulo, SP, Brasil

BRA

Nonprofit

Brazil has the world’s largest public health system, serving more than 200 million people. Despite 90% of primary care units being digitized and a national pay-for-performance policy encouraging prevention, frontline healthcare workers lack tools to act on the data they collect. As a result, 57,000 people die every year from preventable causes such as poor prenatal care, cervical cancer, and unmanaged chronic conditions. This failure is not due to lack of data, but to the inability to convert it into timely, targeted action. In 2024, 36 million women were overdue for cervical cancer screening, and 1 million missed prenatal care targets. Health workers couldn’t identify who needed follow-up care. Nurses didn’t know which patients had missed critical exams. The system is reactive, not proactive. Beyond patient-level barriers, healthcare professionals struggle with insufficient infrastructure and training to leverage digital systems. In Minas Gerais, 84% lacked adequate training, 78% struggled to transition from paper, and 63% lacked computers. Without proper support, providers cannot use data effectively—compromising care quality, equity, and continuity. Our solution addresses these challenges by building intuitive, user-focused, remarkably affordable systems tailored to the needs of healthcare professionals and the communities they serve.

Impulso Previne is an open-source digital platform that transforms health data into personalized, preventive care within Brazil’s public health system (SUS). It is currently implemented in over 160 municipalities, supporting more than 1,000 healthcare professionals and reaching over 2 million people. The platform integrates with national health databases and analyzes existing data to generate individual-level lists—customized dashboards that help health professionals identify people who are overdue for services like Pap smears, prenatal visits, and chronic disease monitoring. These lists support planning for follow-ups, home visits, and outreach by nurses, managers, and community health workers. In parallel, Impulso Previne runs an automated WhatsApp messaging system that sends tailored, evidence-based messages to citizens. These messages help overcome barriers like forgetfulness, stigma, or misinformation, and guide people to available services. The platform uses a three-part data pipeline: local data capture, cloud-based processing, and multi-channel distribution. It runs on Google Cloud Platform and follows strict privacy protocols under Brazil’s LGPD. Impulso Previne is designed to be easy to implement, even in low-resource settings, and built to scale across public systems.

Our solution serves two key groups: Brazil’s low-income population that relies exclusively on the public health system (SUS)—over 170 million people—and the more than 300,000 community health workers and nurses responsible for their care. We focus on those who cannot afford private healthcare—roughly 70% of Brazil’s population—and who are often underserved when it comes to preventive services such as prenatal care, cancer screenings, and chronic disease monitoring. In small and mid-sized municipalities, health professionals lack tools to proactively identify care gaps, and citizens face barriers like misinformation, fear, or lack of guidance. Impulso Previne transforms health data into practical tools: individualized patient lists help professionals prioritize who needs preventive follow-up, and automated WhatsApp messages inform and encourage citizens to take action. Messaging helps break down access barriers by delivering timely, respectful health information. These tools simplify daily routines for care teams and strengthen prevention as a core function of primary care. Evaluations show measurable improvements in cervical cancer screening, prenatal consultations, and syphilis/HIV testing. By enabling proactive care and direct engagement, our solution expands access to prevention and strengthens the connection between public health teams and the communities they serve.