scholarly journals A model for surgical volunteerism: a qualitative study based in Cambodia

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-57
Author(s):  
Sabrina Cheok ◽  
Chaoyan Dong ◽  
Wee Leon Lam ◽  
Jim Gollogly ◽  
Vaikunthan Rajaratnam
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Hand Surgery ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
Positive Experiences ◽  
Medical Volunteerism ◽  
The Impact

Medical volunteerism continues to attract many doctors from high-income nations to low- or middle-income countries (LMIC). In spite of the wealth of positive experiences of these volunteers documented in the literature, there is little evidence concerning the impact and effectiveness of their activity. We documented our model of five-year experience in the delivery of hand surgery in Cambodia, attempting a qualitative approach with attempts to understand the perceptions of local and volunteer surgeons. We conducted independent qualitative interviews with five visiting and 12 Cambodian surgeons who participated in our community-based and outcome-oriented hand surgery training programme between 2013 and 2015. Data were coded and analysed using a content analysis method and then individually grouped into categories; software was used to generate frequencies and quotations of codes. Our results highlighted factors contributing to the success of the medical volunteering programme, to its success, with suggestions for sustainability, motivation and commitment to such a programme. A clearly defined strategy by the volunteer group and a commitment to time and resources by both partners were found to be effective.

scholarly journals Emergent Change in a Mexican Midwifery Center Organization Amidst the COVID-19 Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Alonso ◽  
Akane Sugimoto Storey ◽  
Ilse Fajardo ◽  
Hannah S. Borboleta
Keyword(s):  
Maternity Care ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
International Evidence ◽  
Governmental Support ◽  
Emergent Change

Luna Maya is a Mexican NGO that operates two full-scope midwifery centers in Mexico City and Chiapas, Mexico, providing woman-centered, culturally appropriate midwifery model maternity care on a sliding cost scale. The COVID-19 health crisis has made it necessary for Luna Maya to quickly incorporate safety protocols for out-of-hospital maternity care. Yet many of the emerging guidelines on maternity care have focused on high-income and hospital settings; there are no specific guidelines for such care in out-of-hospital settings in low- and middle-income countries. Thus we have had to create our own, based on best available and emerging evidence. In this article, we describe the guidelines and protocols we have created in response to COVID-19, the international evidence and recommendations on which we base them, and precisely how we carry them out in practice. We also present and analyze the results of qualitative interviews we conducted for this article with eight of our midwives and eight of our midwifery clients. These interviews reveal the tremendous stresses both midwives and pregnant and birthing women are experiencing as a result of the pandemic, their creative adaptations, and the structural flaws, deficiencies, and inequities of the Mexican healthcare system. The article also addresses Luna Maya’s ongoing challenges in continuing to provide care completely outside of governmental support and in difficult economic times, and demonstrates the extreme need for improvements in the Mexican system of maternity care and for full integration of community-based midwives and out-of-hospital birth.

The Impact of Covid 19 on Pregnant Women and Child Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 1367-1373
Author(s):  
Nikhil Sanjay Mujbaile ◽  
Smita Damke
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Separation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Child Health ◽  
General Wellbeing

The Covid illness (COVID-19) pandemic has spread rapidly all through the world and has had a drawn-out impact. The Pandemic has done incredible damage to society and made genuine mental injury to numerous individuals. Mental emergencies frequently cause youngsters to deliver sentiments of relinquishment, despondency, insufficiency, and fatigue and even raise the danger of self-destruction. Youngsters with psychological instabilities are particularly powerless during the isolate and colonial removing period. Convenient and proper assurances are expected to forestall the event of mental and social issues. The rising advanced applications and wellbeing administrations, for example, telehealth, web-based media, versatile wellbeing, and far off intuitive online instruction can connect the social separation and backing mental and conduct wellbeing for youngsters. Because of the mental advancement qualities of youngsters, this investigation additionally outlines intercessions on the mental effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Further difficulties in Low Middle-Income Countries incorporate the failure to actualize successful general wellbeing estimates, for example, social separating, hand cleanliness, definitive distinguishing proof of contaminated individuals with self-disconnection and widespread utilization of covers The aberrant impacts of the Pandemic on youngster wellbeing are of extensive concern, including expanding neediness levels, upset tutoring, absence of admittance to the class taking care of plans, decreased admittance to wellbeing offices and breaks in inoculation and other kid wellbeing programs. Kept tutoring is critical for kids in Low Middle-Income Countries. Arrangement of safe situations is mainly testing in packed asset obliged schools. 

Defining Preterm Birth and Stillbirth in the Western Pacific: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 101053952110260
Author(s):  
Mairead Connolly ◽  
Laura Phung ◽  
Elise Farrington ◽  
Michelle J. L. Scoullar ◽  
Alyce N. Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preterm Birth ◽  
National Level ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Preterm birth and stillbirth are important global perinatal health indicators. Definitions of these indicators can differ between countries, affecting comparability of preterm birth and stillbirth rates across countries. This study aimed to document national-level adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) definitions of preterm birth and stillbirth in the WHO Western Pacific region. A systematic search of government health websites and 4 electronic databases was conducted. Any official report or published study describing the national definition of preterm birth or stillbirth published between 2000 and 2020 was eligible for inclusion. A total of 58 data sources from 21 countries were identified. There was considerable variation in how preterm birth and stillbirth was defined across the region. The most frequently used lower gestational age threshold for viability of preterm birth was 28 weeks gestation (range 20-28 weeks), and stillbirth was most frequently classified from 20 weeks gestation (range 12-28 weeks). High-income countries more frequently used earlier gestational ages for preterm birth and stillbirth compared with low- to middle-income countries. The findings highlight the importance of clear, standardized, internationally comparable definitions for perinatal indicators. Further research is needed to determine the impact on regional preterm birth and stillbirth rates.

scholarly journals The impact of COVID-19 on the care of people living with noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries: an online survey of physicians and pharmacists in nine countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Bullen ◽  
Jessica McCormack ◽  
Amanda Calder ◽  
Varsha Parag ◽  
Kannan Subramaniam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
World Health ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Background: The global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare worldwide. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where people may have limited access to affordable quality care, the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to have a particularly adverse impact on the health and healthcare of individuals with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). A World Health Organization survey found that disruption of delivery of healthcare for NCDs was more significant in LMICs than in high-income countries. However, the study did not elicit insights into the day-to-day impacts of COVID-19 on healthcare by front-line healthcare workers (FLHCWs). Aim: To gain insights directly from FLHCWs working in countries with a high NCD burden, and thereby identify opportunities to improve the provision of healthcare during the current pandemic and in future healthcare emergencies. Methods: We recruited selected frontline healthcare workers (general practitioners, pharmacists, and other medical specialists) from nine countries to complete an online survey (n = 1347). Survey questions focused on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on clinical practice and NCDs; barriers to clinical care during the pandemic; and innovative responses to the many challenges presented by the pandemic. Findings: The majority of FLHCWs responding to our survey reported that their care of patients had been impacted both adversely and positively by the public health measures imposed. Most FLHCs (95%) reported a deterioration in the mental health of their patients. Conclusions: Continuity of care for NCDs as part of pandemic preparedness is needed so that chronic conditions are not exacerbated by public health measures and the direct impacts of the pandemic.

scholarly journals Childlessness, Individual Socioeconomic Resources, and Health: Exploring Variation in 20 Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 515-516
Author(s):  
Nekehia Quashie ◽  
Christine Mair ◽  
Radoslaw Antczak ◽  
Bruno Arpino
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Socioeconomic Resources ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Childless older adults may be at risk for poorer health cross-nationally, yet most studies on this topic analyze only a small number of countries and only 1 or 2 health outcomes. To our knowledge, two papers exist that explore associations between childlessness and multiple indicators of health using data from a large number of regionally diverse countries (e.g., 20 countries from North America, Asia, and Europe), but neither study includes an examination of socioeconomic resources. The level of health risk faced by childless older adults is likely to be distinctly shaped by older adults’ socioeconomic resources (e.g., education, income, wealth). Associations between childlessness, socioeconomic resources, and health may also differ by country context. Using harmonized, cross-national data for adults aged 50 and older across 20 high- and middle-income countries (United States (HRS), European Union (SHARE), Mexico (MHAS), and China (CHARLS) from the Gateway to Global Aging data repository), we explore if and how individual-level socioeconomic resources (income, education, wealth) moderate associations between childlessness and five health indicators (self-rated health, ADL limitations, IADL limitations, chronic conditions, and depression). Results suggest that associations between childlessness and health outcomes vary by individual socioeconomic resources in some country contexts, but not in others. We discuss these findings in light of the impact of individual-level socioeconomic resources on older adults’ support options and health outcomes cross-nationally.

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