Information Technologies

Geospatial Analysis in Global Health: A Monitoring and Evaluation Guide for Making Informed Decisions provides monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practitioners an overview of geospatial analysis techniques applicable to their work. This guide shows how geospatial analysis can be used to support public health program decision-making along with routine planning and M&E. [from abstract]

We have introduced an e-learning platform in the medical department of the Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Malawi. With the support of computer-assisted instruction, we aimed to improve the quality of medical training and education, as well as access to current medical materials, in particular for interns. From March to April 2012, we conducted a qualitative evaluation to assess relevance and appropriateness of the e-learning platform. Data was collected via face-to-face interviews, a guided group discussion and a checklist based observation log. [from abstract]

As in many developing countries, lack of reliable data and grossly inadequate appreciation and use of available information in planning and management of health services were two main weaknesses of the health information systems in Malawi. As a first step towards conceptualization and design of the system, a minimum set of indicators was identified and a strategy was formulated for establishing a system in the country. [from abstract]

The purpose of thsi research project is to establish the factors influencing use of telemedicine in Africa: a case of School of Medicine, University of Nairobi.

This study deployed a cross-sectional structured questionnaire to determine ICT knowledge and utilization among healthcare providers at National Hospital Abuja. [from abstract]

Presented at the GETHealth Summit in Dublin, Ireland (November 13–14, 2014), this poster describes work to develop a new data exchange standard, Care Services Discovery. This technology is open and collaborative, available for support by a wide variety of technologies, including iHRIS, DHIS 2, and UNICEF’s RapidPro platform. Open source technologies and open standards approaches make a formidable combination to address information needs. [from introduction]

Social media sites – like Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, FourSquare and Twitter – summon a tapestry of friendship, humour and community between digitally literate citizens around the world. But the role and value of these platforms and portals for education, teaching and learning is neither self-evident nor obvious. Therefore, this article returns to a key early text in the sociology of education: Paul Willis’s Learning to Labour. Willis addressed the injustices within and beyond school. [from abstract]

The use of social media is a very important avenue for reaching MSM who are not reached by peer educators in Ghana. The method should be adopted as an integral outreach approach for HIV-prevention interventions in the future.[from abstract]

The Pan-American Social Marketing Organization (PASMO) developed a combination prevention intervention in Central America that delivers HIV prevention behavior change communication (BCC) messages, products, services, and referrals to promote improved condom and condom-compatible lubricant use, HIV testing, violence reporting and the use of complementary services. [from abstract]

The study concludes that to address these gender gaps in ICTs in Nigeria, all hands must be on deck to change women’s attitudes towards ICT use by overcoming technophobia;women should be provided with educational and economic empowerment; government ICT policies and programs must address the needs of women;and the civil society should be part and parcel of this crusade for the betterment of women and the society at large. [from abstract]

The world is short of 7.2 million health–care workers and this figure is growing. The shortage of teachers is even greater, which limits traditional education modes. eLearning may help overcome this training need. Offline eLearning is useful in remote and resource–limited settings with poor internet access. To inform investments in offline eLearning, we need to establish its effectiveness in terms of gaining knowledge and skills, students’ satisfaction and attitudes towards eLearning. [from abstract]

This paper proposed a well organised conceptual public health data model for Nigeria,
which addresses all the health problems and their causes. The proposed data model could be used to develop any health related system such as national public health database system, and disease surveillance system, which we intend to develop from this, proposed data model. [adapted from abstract]

This new framework lays out 12 common mHealth applications used as health systems strengthening innovations across the reproductive health continuum. [from abstract]

This paper provides a description of the summit and offers lessons learned on key aspects of the event, including the post-summit communiqué presented to both executive and legislative arms of the government with the intent of improving the NGDI. This paper also discusses progress on health and mapping sector collaboration and coordination since the summit.[from abstract]

There is a shortage of faculty that can provide high-quality training and mentorship for current training programmes and continuing education opportunities for health workers. The use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) can help to overcome these challenges. [adapted from introduction]

This study addresses the growing academic and policy interest in the appropriate provision of local healthcare services to the healthcare needs of local populations to increase health status and decrease healthcare costs. The research goal is to examine the construction of a decision tool which enables healthcare planners to analyse local supply and demand in order to arrive at a better match. [from abstract]

This article evaluates the use and impact of a 13 year old web-based telemedicine system on the health care services provided by health professionals who have used the system. [adapted from author]

This research aimed to better understand how work practice reorganization, supported by ICTs, and particularly by telehealth, may influence professional, educational, and organizational factors relating to Quebec nurses, notably those working in peripheral regions. [from abstract]

The purpose of the study was to survey experiences of occupational stress and perceived work environment among nurses working on acute psychiatric wards in Finland. In addition, nurses’ use and attitudes towards information technology were analyzed. [from abstract]

Although training on simulators is common, little is known about the transfer of learned skills to real clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of urethral catheterization simulated skills training on performance on real patients and to examine whether watching a video of the procedure immediately before assessment enhanced clinical performance. [from abstract]

This study assessed whether clinical teams would direct patients to use web-based patient decision support interventions and whether patients would use them. The authors found that existing evidence of patient benefit and the free availability of patient decision support tools via the web are not sufficient drivers to achieve routine use, and the most significant obstacles to referral to the tools were the attitudes of clinicians and clinical teams. [adapted from abstract]

Health information technology, particularly electronic decision support systems, can reduce the existing gap between evidence-based knowledge and health care practice but professionals have to accept and use this information. Evidence is scant on which features influence the use of computer-based clinical decision support (eCDS) in primary care and how different professional groups experience it. The aim of this research was to describe specific reasons for using or not using eCDS among primary care professionals. [from abstract]

In a district hospital in conflict-torn Somalia, the authors assessed the impact of introducing telemedicine on the quality of paediatric care, and the added value as perceived by local clinicians. [from abstract]

This paper describes the development of a large, public telehealth system that supports primary care professionals in remote regions of the Brazilian as part of a government strategy to provide universal access to high-quality health care. Combining assistance and in-service education with simple and inexpensive technology, the telehealth model has been shown to be effective, technically feasible and economically viable. [adapted from publisher]

This compendium of health information technology (HIT) seeks to inform the implementation of HIT to facilitate continuous quality improvement of antiretroviral therapy programs and improved patient outcomes in low and middle income countries. [from author]

In response the lack of sufficient human resources for health and the skewed geographic availability of medical personnel, the Apollo Hospital Group adopted telemedicine as the most effective way to accellerate the bridging of the demand supply gap without physically shifting resources. This case study examines the network and its processes. [adapted from author]

This 8 minute video highlights one solution to the problem of doctor absenteeism being deployed in the Karnataka region in southern India. When patients arrive at a primary health clinic and the doctor is absent, they can use their phones to text a central location which will record this data to allow the government to track and citizens to see which clinics are chronically understaffed. [from publisher]

Virtual worlds are increasingly being explored as a support for education. The aim of this work was to study the suitability of Second Life as an educational tool for primary healthcare professionals. [from abstract]

To assist in generating further discussion and actions to improve the interoperability of eHealth solutions, the World Bank commissioned this concept paper outlining relevant issues and options on the harmonization and alignment of the eHealth architecture for human resources for health management and development. [adapted from author]

This presentation discusses de-isolating health care professionals through the RAFT telemedicine network that provides a network of health profesionals, low-bandwidth distance education, teleconsulations with communities of experts, an expertise center and a virtual internet patient simulator. [adapted from author]