Contemporary women prisoners health experiences, unique prison health care needs and health care outcomes in sub Saharan Africa: a scoping review of extant literature.

Abstract Introduction Models estimate that the disability burden from mental disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will more than double in the next 40 years. Similar to HIV, mental disorders are stigmatized in many SSA settings and addressing them requires community engagement and long-term treatment. Yet, in contrast to HIV, the public mental healthcare cascade has not been sustained, despite robust data on scalable strategies. We draw on findings from our International AIDS Society (IAS) 2020 virtual workshop and make recommendations for next steps in the scale up of the SSA public mental healthcare continuum. Discussion Early HIV surveillance and care cascade targets are discussed as important strategies for HIV response in SSA that should be adopted for mental health. Advocacy, including engagement with civil society, and targeted economic arguments to policymakers, are reviewed in the context of HIV success in SSA. Parallel opportunities for mental disorders are identified. Learning from HIV, communication of strategies that advance mental health care needs in SSA must be prioritized for broad global audiences. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic is setting off a colossal escalation of global mental health care needs, well-publicized across scientific, media, policymaker, and civil society domains. The pandemic highlights disparities in healthcare access and reinvigorates the push for universal coverage. Learning from HIV strategies, we must seize this historical moment to improve the public mental health care cascade in SSA and capitalize on the powerful alliances ready to be forged. As noted by Ambassador Goosby in our AIDS 2020 workshop, ‘The time is now’.

Download Full-text

Africa's illness trends will strain health systems

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db213285 ◽

2016 ◽

Keyword(s):

Health Systems ◽

International Health ◽

Economic Consequences ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Health Care Needs ◽

Health Issues ◽

Burden Of Care ◽

Care Needs ◽

Content Type ◽

Sub Saharan

Significance South Africa is not alone: NCDs are rising across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), creating new health care needs, as well as social and economic challenges. Impacts International health organisations will increase advocacy for addressing these health issues. Foreign aid and budget allocations for NCDs are unlikely to improve without an increase in political will or global attention. If health systems lack capacity, the burden of care will shift to households with economic consequences. Governments pursuing preventative strategies targeting consumption patterns risk public standoffs with trade groups and industries.

Download Full-text

E-Learning for Medical Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and Low-Resource Settings: Viewpoint (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.12449 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Sandra Barteit ◽

Albrecht Jahn ◽

Sekelani S Banda ◽

Till Bärnighausen ◽

Annel Bowa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Medical Education ◽

Technological Development ◽

Primary Objective ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Care Needs ◽

Middle Income ◽

Low Resource ◽

E Learning ◽

Sub Saharan

UNSTRUCTURED E-learning has been heralded as a revolutionary force for medical education, especially for low-resource countries still suffering from a dire lack of health care workers. However, despite over two decades of e-learning endeavors and interventions across sub-Saharan Africa and other low- and middle-income countries, e-learning for medical education has not gained momentum and continues to fall short of the anticipated revolution. Many e-learning interventions have been cul-de-sac pilots that have not been scaled up but rather terminated after the pilot phase. This is usually a result of not adopting a system-wide approach, which leads to insufficient scope of training, insufficient technological maintenance and user support, unattainably high expectations, and unrealistic financial planning. Thus, a multitude of e-learning evaluations have failed to provide scientifically sound evidence of the effectiveness of e-learning for medical education in low-resource countries. Instead, it appears that technological development has overwhelmed rather than revolutionized medical education. The question of how to push e-learning into a higher gear in low-resource countries persists. Provision of e-learning as a technology is insufficient. E-learning needs to be vigorously and sustainably integrated into the local educational setting and aligned with national strategies and other national endeavors and interventions. Adhering to a standardized framework for the implementation and evaluation of e-learning endeavors is key, especially to bridge the gap in robust evidence that should also guide e-learning implementations. The primary objective of e-learning for medical education is to strengthen the health system in order to serve the population’s health care needs and expectations. Currently, medical e-learning does not measure up to its potential or do justice to medical students in low-resource countries. Technology may help unfold the potential of e-learning, but an all-encompassing change is needed. This can only be achieved through a joint effort that follows a systematic and standardized framework, especially for implementation and evaluation.

Download Full-text