Information Technologies

This article reports recent national data on mobile phone ownership and use among health workers and patients in Kenya and examine factors influencing ownership and SMS use to help guide the policy implications of mHealth. [from author]

A recent trial in Kenya showed that text-message reminders on adherence to malaria case-management sent to health workers’ mobile phones improved management of pediatric outpatients by 25 percentage points. This paper examines costs and cost-effectiveness of this intervention. [from abstract]

This paper applies a health systems perspective to guide analysis of potential challenges of scaling up mHealth for the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of community-based health services (CBS) in South Africa. This formalisation of CBS is expected to bring greater standardisation of M&E and supervision systems for community health workers. [adapted from author]

To improve the quality of health care in remote parts of Pakistan, a research project was initiated in the mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan using information and communication technology to improve patient care and support continuing education of health providers (eHealth). This paper describes the experience of nurses in using eHealth in their routine practices. [from abstract]

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]

This document outlines the development and scale up of a health management information system in Ethiopia as a core information component of effective health care delivery whose aim is to improve management and optimum use of resources for making timely decisions. [adapted from author]

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]

This article describes the evolution and challenges of mHealth and addresses the potential impact of mHealth for midwives. Midwifery leadership in the field of mHealth at this early stage of its development will ensure future health programming that is relevant to the needs of women and the midwives who care for them. [adapted from abstract]

This study explored factors influencing rural and urban emergency department clinicians’ participation in a web-based knowledge exchange intervention that focused on best practice knowledge about pediatric emergency care. [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 applied a logic model to describe a pathway of how specific activities and interventions can strengthen the use of health data in decision making to ultimately strengthen the health system. [from abstract]

Medical simulation is considered to bridge the gap between the classroom and clinical environment, and it enables learners, from novice to expert to practice and develop clinical skills without any fear of harm to patients. This study evaluated the effectiveness of simulation training in developing clinical skills in pre-clinical medical students. [adapted from author]

This research evaluated whether it would be feasible to use virtual patients (VPs), a learning system designed to simulate encounters between a patient and a healthcare professional, for and educational program in a medical school in Romanian, with cases in English and developed in a non-Romanian setting.

This study investigated how students and tutors perceive a blended learning approach using virtual patients as preparation for medical students for skills laboratory training. [adapted from author]

This article reports on a successful project using mobile phone technology for rapidly detecting and treating patients with malaria in a remote area of Bangladesh. [adapted from abstract]

In the face of severe faculty shortages in resource-constrained countries, medical schools look to e-learning for improved access to medical education. This paper summarizes the literature on eLearning in low- and middle-income countries, and presents the spectrum of tools and strategies used. [from abstract]

This technical brief outlines a human resources information system pilot project in India and presents the key results from this effort. [adapted from author]

This study assessed the impact of a behavioral telehealth ethical competencies training program on behavioral health providers’ development of behavioral telehealth competency. Video vignettes evaluating the 14 competencies, self-reported competence surveys and follow-up surveys of progress on telehealth goals were utilized to assess effects of the training. [adapted from abstract]

The aim of this study was to explore nursing students’ perceptions of the usefulness of supplementary biology podcasts for their learning. [from abstract]

The aim of this article was to conduct a thematic review of how mHealth projects have approached the intersection of mobile technology and public health in low- and middle-income countries and identify the promising practices and experiences learned, as well as novel and innovative approaches of how mHealth can support community health workers. [adapted from abstract]

This paper reports an evaluation of an initiative which provided trainee doctors in Wales with a library of texts on a smartphone. Within a wider context of use of information sources in the workplace, the evaluation sought to find out how, when and why the Smartphone library was used and the outcomes and impact on knowledge and practice. [from author]

This paper details the experience of developing an eLearning technology as a tool to implement competency-based medical education in Tanzania medical universities, inlcuding the background, early adoption attempts, challenges to implementation and lessons learned. [adapted from abstract]

This brief describes the impact of using health management information system (HMIS) data, including an example of how this data improved the vaccination rates for newborns in Ethiopia.

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]

This free online course is a collaborative offering of Sana, Partners in Health, and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). The goal of this course is the development of innovations in information systems for developing countries that will translate into improvement in health outcomes, strengthen the existing organizational infrastructure, and create a collaborative ecosystem to maximize the value of these innovations. The course offers video lectures and links to projects, examples and course materials. [adapted from publisher]

The aim of this study was to determine whether the an online eLearning resource in addition to usual teaching improved the performance of practical skills in physiotherapy students. [adapted from abstract]

The World Health Organization (WHO) created this diagnostic tool to conduct a diagnosis on the quality of data on HRH and the degree to which information is used for evidence-based decision-making. It contains questions intended to gather information on the uses, type and quality of data on HRH at institutional level in countries to identify strengths and weaknesses of the current HRIS in countries. [adapted from publisher]

This document outlines the steps for designing and implementing a data demand and information use (DDIU) approach. It reviews the application of the information supply and demand matrix, examines the constraints to evidence-based decision, examines strategies to encourage DDIU, outlines guidelines for implementing DDIU activities and interventions, and presents a set of tools for facilitating DDIU. [adapted from author]

These data demand and use (DDU) case studies from a variety of settings give examples of how interventions have successfully facilitated data demand and changed how information is used. Examples are from Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and nine Caribbean countries. [from publisher]

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]