As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in healthcare, questions around transparency, ethics, and real-world applicability are gaining urgency – particularly in developing countries, where most existing frameworks fail to reflect local realities. From differences in diet and health indicators to disparities in access and infrastructure, the Global South presents challenges that are often overlooked in mainstream digital health research. 

Against this backdrop, a young Bangladeshi researcher is contributing to a critical gap in the field. Farzana Islam, an MSc graduate in Computer Science from Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and affiliated with IUB’s Center for Computational & Data Sciences (CCDS), has published a study in the prestigious Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) that proposes a participatory framework for explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) in mobile health (mHealth). Her work seeks to ensure that AI-driven health solutions are not only technologically advanced but also ethical, understandable, inclusive, and relevant to the communities they are designed to serve. 

The article, titled "A Proposed Participatory Framework for Explainable AI in mHealth: Integrating User and Stakeholder Requirements", is a direct outcome of Farzana's MSc in Computer Science thesis work at IUB. The research was supervised by Dr. Ashraful Islam, current Director of CCDS, and co-supervised by Prof. Dr. M. Ashraful Amin, Founder Director of CCDS and Prof. Dr. Moinul Zaber from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, UK. 

“This research looks at how artificial intelligence used in mHealth apps can be made easier to understand and more trustworthy for users. It proposes a framework where patients, doctors, and other stakeholders are involved in designing these systems so that the technology explains its decisions clearly. The goal is to create AI-powered health solutions that better fit the needs of people, especially in low-resource countries and the Global South,” said Farzana, who received the Top Achiever’s Award at the 26th Convocation of IUB held in January 2026. 

“Consider a pregnant woman in Bangladesh using a mHealth app to make decisions about her care. If the system gives her advice without clearly explaining why, or if it is based on data that doesn’t reflect her reality, it can create confusion or even risk. This research is about building a framework so that such technologies are understandable, trustworthy, and truly useful for people in contexts like ours,” Farzana explained. 

The Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) is a leading peer-reviewed, open-access journal in digital health and medical informatics. Established in 1999, it focuses on the use of internet and emerging technologies in healthcare and is widely recognized as a top-ranked journal in its field. JMIR holds Q1 status in both SCOPUS and Web of Science, with a CiteScore of 11.7 and an Impact Factor of 6.0. Beyond its strong reputation for quality and visibility, it holds the distinction of being the field's largest journal and sits at #1 in Google Scholar rankings within the “Medical Informatics” discipline. 

“What makes this publication especially significant is its pioneering nature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ever policy article addressing Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) for mHealth solution development specifically targeting countries in the Global South – a region long underrepresented in such high-impact research discourse,” said Dr. Ashraful Islam, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at IUB and the current Director of CCDS. 

JMIR Publications has also granted the team a rare courtesy waiver on the Article Processing Charges (APC), waiving 71% of the total fee – equivalent to USD 2,350 out of the standard USD 3,350, which reflects the publisher's acknowledgment of the exceptional merit and significance of the research. 

Currently, Farzana is working as a Senior Lab Instructor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North South University. She has also been accepted into a fully funded PhD program at the University of Connecticut, USA, which is ranked 80th globally in QS Subject Rankings.  

“This combination of a high-impact international publication, a prestigious APC waiver, a current academic research position, and an upcoming fully-funded doctoral program collectively stands for the growing capacity of IUB to produce world-class research graduates who are well prepared for top-tier PhD programs, academia, and the global industry,” said Dr. Islam. 

IUB’s Center for Computational and Data Sciences (CCDS) is a research-focused initiative that promotes interdisciplinary work in data science, artificial intelligence, and computational technologies. It supports faculty and student research, facilitates collaboration, and aims to develop innovative, data-driven solutions to real-world challenges. 

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