scholarly journals Digital transformation of major scientific meetings induced by the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from the ESC 2020 annual congress

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Roffi ◽  
Barbara Casadei ◽  
Christine Gouillard ◽  
Nata Nambatingué ◽  
Ghislain Daval ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Digital Technology ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Scientific Programme ◽  
Cloud Infrastructure ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Scientific Meetings ◽  
European Society Of Cardiology ◽  
First Time ◽  
Technical Failures

Abstract As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) was forced to pivot the scientific programme of the ESC Congress 2021 into a totally new format for online consumption, The Digital Experience. A variety of new suppliers were involved, including experts in TV studio, cloud infrastructure, online platforms, video management, and online analytics. An information technology platform able to support hundreds of thousands simultaneous connections was built and cloud computing technologies were put in place to help scale up and down the resources needed for the high number of users at peak times. The video management system was characterized by multiple layers of security and redundancy and offered the same fluidity, albeit at a different resolution, to all user independently of the performance of their internet connection. The event, free for all users, was an undisputed success, both from a scientific/educational as well as from a digital technology perspective. The number of registrations increased by almost four-fold when compared with the 2019 record-breaking edition in Paris, with a greater proportion of younger and female participants as well as of participants from low- and middle-income countries. No major technical failures were encountered. For the first time in history, attendees from all around the globe had the same real-time access to the world’s most popular cardiovascular conference.

scholarly journals Accelerating access and scale-up of optimized antiretroviral therapy in low-income and middle-income countries: results of a coordinated end-to-end approach

AIDS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement 2) ◽  
pp. S165-S171
Author(s):  
Emily Lark Harris ◽  
Katherine Blumer ◽  
Carmen Perez Casas ◽  
Danielle Ferris ◽  
Carolyn Amole ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antiretroviral Therapy ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
End To End

scholarly journals Implementation Research Training Framework 2.0: Making the whole greater than the parts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Implementation Research ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Routine Practice ◽  
Tropical Diseases ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
And Training ◽  
New Framework

Clinical innovations alone do not generate public health impact. Implementation research (IR) is a powerful tool for identifying the bottlenecks impeding scale up efforts and helping to turn scientifically tested solutions into routine practice. To enhance the ability of investigators in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to design, conduct and interpret IR, several actors, such as the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), have sought to strengthen researchers' capacity to design and undertake IR. This report outlines the development of a new framework for IR training in LMICs to inspire thinking and discussion on how training approaches can best serve learners' needs.

scholarly journals Establishing Global School Feeding Program Targets: How Many Poor Children Globally Should Be Prioritized, and What Would Be the Cost of Implementation?

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley J. Drake ◽  
Nail Lazrak ◽  
Meena Fernandes ◽  
Kim Chu ◽  
Samrat Singh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
School Health ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
School Feeding

The creation of Human Capital is dependent upon good health and education throughout the first 8,000 days of life, but there is currently under-investment in health and nutrition after the first 1,000 days. Working with governments and partners, the UN World Food Program is leading a global scale up of investment in school health, and has undertaken a strategic analysis to explore the scale and cost of meeting the needs of the most disadvantaged school age children and adolescents in low and middle-income countries globally. Of the 663 million school children enrolled in school, 328 million live where the current coverage of school meals is inadequate (<80%), of these, 251 million live in countries where there are significant nutrition deficits (>20% anemia and stunting), and of these an estimated 73 million children in 60 countries are also living in extreme poverty (<USD 1.97 per day). 62.7 million of these children are in Africa, and more than 66% live in low income countries, with a substantial minority in pockets of poverty in middle-income countries. The estimated overall financial requirement for school feeding is USD 4.7 billion, increasing to USD 5.8 billion annually if other essential school health interventions are included in the package. The DCP3 (Vol 8) school feeding edition and the global coverage numbers were launched in Tunis, 2018 by the WFP Executive Director, David Beasley. These estimates continue to inform the development of WFP's global strategy for school feeding.

scholarly journals Systematic review of the costs and effectiveness of interventions to increase infant vaccination coverage in low- and middle-income countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Munk ◽  
Allison Portnoy ◽  
Christian Suharlim ◽  
Emma Clarke-Deelder ◽  
Logan Brenzel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Immunization Coverage ◽  
Health Systems Strengthening ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Immunization Programs ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Objective Evidence ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Background In recent years, several large studies have assessed the costs of national infant immunization programs, and the results of these studies are used to support planning and budgeting in low- and middle-income countries. However, few studies have addressed the costs and cost-effectiveness of interventions to improve immunization coverage, despite this being a major focus of policy attention. Without this information, countries and international stakeholders have little objective evidence on the efficiency of competing interventions for improving coverage. Methods We conducted a systematic literature review on the costs and cost-effectiveness of interventions to improve immunization coverage in low- and middle-income countries, including both published and unpublished reports. We evaluated the quality of included studies and extracted data on costs and incremental coverage. Where possible, we calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) to describe the efficiency of each intervention in increasing coverage. Results A total of 14 out of 41 full text articles reviewed met criteria for inclusion in the final review. Interventions for increasing immunization coverage included demand generation, modified delivery approaches, cash transfer programs, health systems strengthening, and novel technology usage. We observed substantial heterogeneity in costing methods and incompleteness of cost and coverage reporting. Most studies reported increases in coverage following the interventions, with coverage increasing by an average of 23 percentage points post-intervention across studies. ICERs ranged from $0.66 to $161.95 per child vaccinated in 2017 USD. We did not conduct a meta-analysis given the small number of estimates and variety of interventions included. Conclusions There is little quantitative evidence on the costs and cost-effectiveness of interventions for improving immunization coverage, despite this being a major objective for national immunization programs. Efforts to improve the level of costing evidence—such as by integrating cost analysis within implementation studies and trials of immunization scale up—could allow programs to better allocate resources for coverage improvement. Greater adoption of standardized cost reporting methods would also enable the synthesis and use of cost data.

scholarly journals Developing Sustainable Prehospital Care for NCD Emergencies in Rwanda: A Collaboration between EMS, Ministry of Health of Rwanda, and Virginia Commonwealth University

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s64-s64
Author(s):  
Jean Marie Uwitonze ◽  
Basil Asay ◽  
Ignace Kabagema ◽  
Stephanie Louka ◽  
Luke Wolfe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prehospital Care ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
T Test ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Course Assessment ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Medical Emergencies ◽  
Virginia Commonwealth University ◽  
Student’S T

Introduction:Every year, 71% of all deaths globally are due to NCDs. Over 85% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with 36% of all reported deaths in Rwanda attributed to NCDs. Approximately 24 million lives are lost each year in LMICs due to emergency medical conditions. The collaboration between VCU and the EMS Rwanda designed and implemented a pre-hospital medical emergencies training course and train-the-trainers program to address the rise of NCDs.Methods:During the course, pre and post 50 assessment questions were administered. Two cohorts participated 25 prehospital staff identified by EMS to form an instructor core and 19 emergency staff from public hospitals who are likely to respond to local emergencies in the community. A two-day EMCC was developed using established best practices. The Instructor core completed EMCC 1 and a one-day educator course and then taught the second cohort (EMCC2). Student’s t-test and matched paired t-tests were used to evaluate the assessments.Results:Mean score on EMCC 1 was 43% (SD: 20) compared to 85% (SD: 5) on post-course assessment. Pre-assessment failure rate was 88%. Mean scores for EMCC 2 were 45% (SD: 14) and 81% (SD: 10) on post-assessment. Pre-assessment score was low (50%). A paired t-test comparing pre-course to post-course assessment means demonstrated an increase by 42% (SD 30) for EMCC 1 (p<0.001) and 37% (SD: 14) for EMCC 2 (p<0.001) with 95% confidence. No items had to be removed from analysis based on the discrimination index (di).Discussion:NCDs often present as emergencies such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Effective management of these in the prehospital setting is essential to optimal outcomes. This study effectively implemented a training program in Kigali, Rwanda and created an instructor core to allow scale-up of effective pre-hospital services across the country.

scholarly journals Cost of scaling up mental healthcare in low-and middle-income countries

2007 ◽  
Vol 191 (6) ◽  
pp. 528-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Chisholm ◽  
Crick Lund ◽  
Shekhar Saxena
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Psychosocial Treatment ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Low And Middle Income

BackgroundNo systematic attempt has been made to calculate the costs of scaling up mental health services in low-and middle-income countries.AimsTo estimate the expenditures needed to scale up the delivery of an essential mental healthcare package over a 10-year period (2006–2015).MethodA core package was defined, comprising pharmacological and/or psychosocial treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and hazardous alcohol use. Current service levels in 12 selected low-and middle-income countries were established using the WHO–AIMS assessment tool. Target-level resource needs were derived from published need assessments and economic evaluations.ResultsThe cost per capita of providing the core package attarget coverage levels (in US dollars) ranged from $1.85 to $2.60 per year in low-income countries and $3.20 to $6.25 per year in lower-middle-income countries, an additional annual investment of $0.18–0.55 per capita.ConclusionsAlthough significant new resources need to be invested, the absolute amount is not large when considered at the population level and against other health investment strategies.

scholarly journals Ethical issues in the use of SMS messaging in HIV care and treatment in low- and middle-income countries: case examples from Mozambique

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezequiel B Ossemane ◽  
Troy D Moon ◽  
Martin C Were ◽  
Elizabeth Heitman
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Hiv Care ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Retention In Hiv Care ◽  
Care And Treatment ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract The introduction of mobile communication technologies in health care in low- and middle-income countries offers an opportunity for increased efficiencies in provision of care, improved utilization of scarce resources, reductions in workload, and increased reach of services to a larger target population. Short message service (SMS) technologies offer promise, with several large-scale SMS-based implementations already under way. Still largely lacking in the research literature are evaluations of specific ethical issues that arise when SMS programs are implemented and studied in resource-limited settings. In this paper, we examine the ethical issues raised by the deployment of SMS messaging to support patient retention in HIV care and treatment and in the research conducted to evaluate that deployment. We use case studies that are based in Mozambique and ground our discussion in the ethical framework for international research proposed by Emanuel et al., highlighting ethical considerations needed to guide the design and implementation of future SMS-based interventions. Such guidance is increasingly needed in countries such as Mozambique, where the local capacity for ethical study design and oversight is still limited and the scale-up and study of mHealth initiatives are still driven predominantly by international collaborators. These issues can be complex and will need ongoing attention on a case-by-case basis to ensure that appropriate protections are in place, while simultaneously maximizing the potential benefit of new mHealth technologies.

scholarly journals Decentralization and Regionalization of Surgical Care as a Critical Scale-up Strategy in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Comment on "Decentralization and Regionalization of Surgical Care: A Review of Evidence for the Optimal Distribution of Surgical Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries"

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaymie A. Henry
Keyword(s):  
Scale Up ◽  
Surgical Care ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Optimal Distribution ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Surgical Services ◽  
Obstetric Services ◽  
Surgical Conditions ◽  
Low And Middle Income

As global attention to improve the quality, safety and access to surgical care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) increases, the need for evidence-based strategies to reliably scale-up the quality and quantity of surgical services becomes ever more pertinent. Iversen et al discuss the optimal distribution of surgical services, whether through decentralization or regionalization, and propose a strategy that utilizes the dimensions of acuity, complexity and prevalence of surgical conditions to inform national priorities. Proposed expansion of this strategy to encompass levels of scale-up prioritization is discussed in this commentary. The decentralization of emergency obstetric services in LMICs shows promising results and should be further explored. The dearth of evidence of regionalization in LMICs, on the other hand, limits extrapolation of lessons learned. Nevertheless, principles from the successful regionalization of certain services such as trauma care in high-income countries (HICs) can be adapted to LMIC settings and can provide the backbone for innovation in service delivery and safety.

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