Development of need based ivri-artificial insemination app and its perceived utility

ICAR-IVRI has developed a mobile app on Artificial Insemination based on the information needs perceived by the veterinarians and para-vets from four states viz., Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odisha and Telangana. On the basis of pooled mean score of various information needs, a total of 20 sub-practices on Artificial Insemination (which received pooled score of 5and above) were selected for inclusion in the content development of the mobile app. The entire content for mobile app was developed by consulting the relevant literature according to the perceived information need. All of the content developed was given to a total of 17 experts for content validation. After validating the contents and inserting necessary corrections, related photographs were collected/shot from the Cattle and Buffalo farm of IVRI. The app was placed on Google Play store on 6th March 2018 and widely promoted among the field veterinarians and paravets for enhancing its utility through email, WhatsApp and other social media platforms. The app has received a very good user rating of 5.0 out of 5.0 and has crossed more than 5000 downloads. The effectiveness of the app was assessed through studying its perceived utility using a structured questionnaire among a total of 60 respondents viz., 30 Veterinarians and 30 paravets selected from the above mentioned four states. The utility of the app was assessed on seven components viz., usefulness, user friendliness, attractiveness, compatibility, complete coverage of content, soundness of visuals and credibility. The results revealed that the perceived utility was very good with an average perceived utility score of 19.83. Among the seven component, the pooled mean score of "credibility" was high followed by "usefulness" and "complete coverage of content". The developed mobile app can be a very good tool for strengthening the doorstep AI delivery services by helping the vets and para-vets to refresh their knowledge. The mobile app can be used by vets, para-vets working in SDAH, NGOs, SVU, Veterinary colleges etc. to perform AI effectively.