Mobile phone microscopy for clinical and public health use in low-resource settings (Conference Presentation)

Author(s):  
Isaac Bogoch
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
L B Silva ◽  
L A P Sousa ◽  
R E Resende ◽  
A A Fortini ◽  
C G Pessoa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In January/2020 the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus was declared as an international public health emergency. In Brazil, until June 22nd there were 1,11 million confirmed cases. In this context, the Telehealth Network of Minas Gerais (TNMG), a large-scale public telehealth service, acted quickly to assist professionals and the population in coping with the disease, mainly in low resource settings. Aim To report the experience of a Brazilian public telehealth service in actions to manage COVID-19 and its impacts. Methods Experience report. Results The TNMG developed 15 infographics and 16 web lectures for health professionals and general population about key themes, such as respiratory syndromes, personal care and ventilatory support. Two of them were live, seen in real time by 13,422 professionals, mainly nurses (63.8%) and doctors (31.1%), from 45 medical specialties (most family physicians-34.0%), in all Brazilian states, especially the Southeast region (58.5%). All lectures were uploaded on TNMG's Youtube channel, each one reaching 5,300 viewers on average. Specific to support health professionals: 2 guidelines were developed - one for primary care units and other to emergency/intensive care; a category for offline (second opinion) teleconsultations was created for doubts about coronavirus; and a list with 39 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) was developed. For the general population: 65 FAQs were developed; a health team from a low resource setting was trained to provide online teleconsultations; and a chatbot was released to automatically answer COVID-19 related doubts and/or evaluate a user's health condition, indicating if emergency medical care was needed. All resources are freely available on TNMG's website and on its social networks. Conclusions Telehealth tools had a notable acceptance and were shown to be an effective way to disseminate information for professionals and lay population throughout the country. Key messages Telehealth tools have been proven to be an effective strategy to promote health education, for both professionals and the general population. Telemedicine plays a fundamental role on dealing with public health issues, especially on low resource settings.


Author(s):  
Genevieve Thompson ◽  
Carla Ens ◽  
Harvey Chochinov

Chapter 14 expands on the role of palliative care within the framework of cancer control. In addition, the public health approach outlined by the WHO, including appropriate policy, adequate drug availability, education, and palliative care delivery at all levels of health care, will be discussed. Finally, the challenges in adapting these principles into high and low resource settings will be described.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faisal M. Shuaib ◽  
Philip F. Musa ◽  
Ado Muhammad ◽  
Emmanuel Musa ◽  
Sara Nyanti ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabihah Haron ◽  
Rosnah Binti Zain ◽  
Wan Maria Nabillah ◽  
Amyza Saleh ◽  
Thomas George Kallarakkal ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 433-434
Author(s):  
Saurabh Ram Bihari Lal Shrivastava ◽  
Prateek Saurabh Shrivastava ◽  
Jegadeesh Ramasamy

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. e002100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob R Lepard ◽  
Michael C Dewan ◽  
Stephanie H Chen ◽  
Olufemi B Bankole ◽  
John Mugamba ◽  
...  

IntroductionManaging paediatric hydrocephalus with shunt placement is especially risky in resource-limited settings due to risks of infection and delayed life-threatening shunt obstruction. This study evaluated a new evidence-based treatment algorithm to reduce shunt-dependence in this context.MethodsA prospective cohort design was used. The CURE Protocol employs preoperative and intraoperative data to choose between endoscopic treatment and shunt placement. Data were prospectively collected for 730 children in Uganda (managed by local neurosurgeons highly experienced in the protocol) and, for external validation, 96 children in Nigeria (managed by a local neurosurgeon trained in the protocol).ResultsThe age distribution was similar between Uganda and Nigeria, but there were more cases of postinfectious hydrocephalus in Uganda (64.2% vs 26.0%, p<0.001). Initial treatment of hydrocephalus was similar at both centres and included either a shunt at first operation or endoscopic management without a shunt. The Nigerian cohort had a higher failure rate for endoscopic cases (adjusted HR 2.5 (95% CI 1.6 to 4.0), p<0.001), but not for shunt cases (adjusted HR 1.3 (0.5 to 3.0), p=0.6). Despite the difference in endoscopic failure rates, a similar proportion of the entire cohort was successfully treated without need for shunt at 6 months (55.2% in Nigeria vs 53.4% in Uganda, p=0.74).ConclusionUse of the CURE Protocol in two centres with different populations and surgeon experience yielded similar 6-month results, with over half of all children remaining shunt-free. Where feasible, this could represent a better public health strategy in low-resource settings than primary shunt placement.


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