Kolloquium SoSe 2025

Prof. Dr. Rahel Bekele

School of Information Science, Addis Ababa University

Wann: Mo, 14.04.2025, 17:15 Uhr

Wo: Konrad-Zuse-Hörsaal (Raum B-201)

Thema

Integrating Epistemic Justice and Algorithmic Fairness in Data Collection and Analysis for Improving Maternal and Child Health in Rural Ethiopia

Sprache: English

Abstract

Maternal and child health in rural Ethiopia remains a significant public health challenge, with high mortality rates attributed to various factors, including limited access to healthcare facilities, cultural barriers, and insufficient health infrastructure. These challenges are further exacerbated by inequities in health data collection, which often fail to capture the experiences of marginalized communities. As a result, existing healthcare policies and interventions may not effectively address the specific needs of these populations, hindering progress in improving health outcomes.

This talk presents an ongoing research project focused on integrating marginalized perspectives into existing data collection instruments to ensure more inclusive and accurate health metrics. By incorporating principles of epistemic justice, the study seeks to create data collection methods that respect and reflect the lived experiences of rural communities, particularly women and children. The speaker will discuss the application of participatory design (PD) approaches to co-create culturally relevant and gender-sensitive data collection tools, allowing for a more equitable representation of these communities' healthcare needs.

As emerging data science technologies are increasingly applied to healthcare, it is essential to ensure that algorithms used for decision-making do not perpetuate biases or reinforce existing inequalities. The talk also proposes the  integration of algorithmic fairness in the analysis and use of health data.

Bio

Dr. Rahel Bekele is currently an associate professor at the School of Information Science, Addis Ababa University. She obtained her Dr. rer. nat. in Computer Science in 2005 from the Department of Informatik, University of Hamburg, Germany where she worked on machine learning techniques to make predictive models on student learning outcomes.

Dr. Rahel is engaged in research at the intersection of technology, public health, and community engagement. With a background in Computer Science, information science and Statistics, she brings a wealth of expertise in data science and ICT for development. Since 2010, Dr. Rahel has focused her research on developing technology platforms aimed at improving the lives of rural women. Currently, she serves as the principal investigator for two major projects: “Advancing Public Health Research in Eastern Africa through Data Science Training (APHREA-DST)” and “Technology Enabled Maternal and Child Health Care (TEMACC-Ethiopia)”.

In her research, she explores ethnographic and participatory approaches to user-centered design, with a focus on improving maternal and child health in remote rural settings in Ethiopia. Her current research work incorporates epistemic justice principles, aiming to ensure that local knowledge and perspectives are integrated into the design of health interventions. By fostering stakeholder engagement and leveraging technology, Dr. Rahel and her team are working to bridge healthcare disparities, particularly for rural mothers, and to develop sustainable, culturally relevant solutions to improve public health outcomes in Ethiopia.