SCALE-UP, TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND DESIGN

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) has been hailed as a potential gamechanger for non-communicable disease (NCD) management, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Individual studies illustrate barriers to implementation and scale-up, but an overview of implementation issues for NCD mHealth interventions in LMIC is lacking. This paper explores implementation issues from two perspectives: information in published papers and field-based knowledge by people working in this field. Methods: Through a scoping review publications on mHealth interventions for NCDs in LMIC were identified and assessed with the WHO mHealth Evidence Reporting and Assessment (mERA) tool. A two-stage web-based survey on implementation barriers was performed within a NCD research network and through two online platforms on mHealth targeting researchers and implementors. Results: 16 studies were included in the scoping review. Short Message Service (SMS) messaging was the main implementation tool. Most studies focused on patient-centered outcomes. Most studies did not report on process measures and on contextual conditions influencing implementation decisions. Few publications reported on implementation barriers. The websurvey included twelve projects and the responses revealed additional information, especially on practical barriers related to the patients’ characteristics, low demand, technical requirements, integration with health services and with the wider context. Many interventions used low-cost software and devices with limited capacity that not allowed linkage with routine data or patient records, which incurred fragmented delivery and increased workload. Conclusion: Text messaging is a dominant mHealth tool for patient-directed of quality improvement interventions in LMIC. Publications report little on implementation barriers, while a questionnaire among implementors reveals significant barriers and strategies to address them. This information is relevant for decisions on scale-up of mHealth in the domain of NCD. Further knowledge should be gathered on implementation issues, and the conditions that allow universal coverage.

Download Full-text

Implementation barriers for mHealth for non-communicable diseases prevention and management in low and middle income countries: a scoping review and field-based views from implementers

Wellcome Open Research ◽

10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15581.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 7

Author(s):

Josefien van Olmen ◽

Erica Erwin ◽

Ana Cristina García-Ulloa ◽

Bruno Meessen ◽

J. Jaime Miranda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Scoping Review ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

Scale Up ◽

Research Network ◽

Implementation Barriers ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Technical Requirements ◽

Low And Middle Income

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) has been hailed as a potential gamechanger for non-communicable disease (NCD) management, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Individual studies illustrate barriers to implementation and scale-up, but an overview of implementation issues for NCD mHealth interventions in LMICs is lacking. This paper explores implementation issues from two perspectives: information in published papers and field-based knowledge by people working in this field. Methods: Through a scoping review publications on mHealth interventions for NCDs in LMICs were identified and assessed with the WHO mHealth Evidence Reporting and Assessment (mERA) tool. A two-stage web-based survey on implementation barriers was performed within a NCD research network and through two online platforms on mHealth targeting researchers and implementors. Results: 18 studies were included in the scoping review. Short Message Service (SMS) messaging was the main implementation tool. Most studies focused on patient-centered outcomes. Most studies do not report on process measures and on contextual conditions influencing implementation decisions. Few publications reported on implementation barriers. The websurvey included twelve projects and the responses revealed additional information, especially on practical barriers related to the patients’ characteristics, low demand, technical requirements, integration with health services and with the wider context. Many interventions used low-cost software and devices with limited capacity that not allowing linkage with routine data or patient records, which incurred fragmented delivery and increased workload. Conclusion: Text messaging is a dominant mHealth tool for patient-directed of quality improvement interventions in LMICs. Publications report little on implementation barriers, while a questionnaire among implementors reveals significant barriers and strategies to address them. This information is relevant for decisions on scale-up of mHealth in the domain of NCD. Further knowledge should be gathered on implementation issues, and the conditions that allow universal coverage.

Download Full-text

A Scale-up of Energy-Cycle Analysis on Processing Non-Woven Flax/PLA Tape and Triaxial Glass Fibre Fabric for Composites

Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing ◽

10.3390/jmmp3040092 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 92 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gilles Tchana Toffe ◽

Sikiru Oluwarotimi Ismail ◽

Diogo Montalvão ◽

Jason Knight ◽

Guogang Ren

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Composite Materials ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Glass Fibre ◽

Scale Up ◽

Processing Condition ◽

Natural Fibre ◽

Life Cycles ◽

Technical Requirements

In the drive towards a sustainable bio-economy, a growing interest exists in the development of composite materials using renewable natural resources. This paper explores the life cycle assessment of processing of Flax fibre reinforced polylactic acid (PLA), with a comparison of glass fibre triaxial fabric in the production process. The use of hydrocarbon fossil resources and synthetic fibres, such as glass and carbon, have caused severe environmental impacts in their entire life cycles. Whereas, Flax/PLA is one of the cornerstones for the sustainable economic growth of natural fibre composites. In this study, the manufacturing processes for the production of Flax/PLA tape and triaxial glass fibre were evaluated through a gate-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA). The assessment was based on an input-output model to estimate energy demand and environmental impacts. The quality of the natural hybrid composite produced and cost-effectiveness of their LCA was dependent on their roving processing speeds and temperature applied to both the Flax/PLA tape and triaxial glass fabrics during processing. The optimum processing condition was found to be at a maximum of 4 m/min at a constant temperature of 170 °C. In contrast, the optimum for normal triaxial glass fibre production was at a slower speed of 1 m/min using a roving glass fibre laminating machine. The results showed that when the Flax and PLA were combined to produce new composite material in the form of a flax/PLA tape, energy consumption was 0.25 MJ/kg, which is lower than the 0.8 MJ/kg used for glass fibre fabric process. Flax/PLA tape and glass fibre fabric composites have a carbon footprint equivalent to 0.036 kg CO2 and 0.11 kg CO2, respectively, under the same manufacturing conditions. These are within the technical requirements in the composites industry. The manufacturing process adopted to transform Flax/PLA into a similar tape composite was considerably quicker than that of woven glass fibre fabric for composite tape. This work elucidated the relationship of the energy consumptions of the two materials processes by using a standard LCA analytical methodology. The outcomes supported an alternative option for replacement of some conventional composite materials for the automotive industry. Most importantly, the natural fibre composite production is shown to result in an economic benefit and reduced environmental impact.

Download Full-text

NiAl precipitation in Fe-12w/o Cr-5w/o Ni-4w/o Al

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010007480x ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

pp. 202-203

Author(s):

L.E. Murr ◽

J.S. Dunning ◽

S. Shankar

Keyword(s):

Solid Solution ◽

Stainless Steel ◽

Stainless Steels ◽

Alloy Composition ◽

Chromium Content ◽

Scale Up ◽

Optical Metallography ◽

Property Evaluation ◽

310 Stainless Steel ◽

Microstructural Studies

Aluminum additions to conventional 18Cr-8Ni austenitic stainless steel compositions impart excellent resistance to high sulfur environments. However, problems are typically encountered with aluminum additions above about 1% due to embrittlement caused by aluminum in solid solution and the precipitation of NiAl. Consequently, little use has been made of aluminum alloy additions to stainless steels for use in sulfur or H2S environments in the chemical industry, energy conversion or generation, and mineral processing, for example.A research program at the Albany Research Center has concentrated on the development of a wrought alloy composition with as low a chromium content as possible, with the idea of developing a low-chromium substitute for 310 stainless steel (25Cr-20Ni) which is often used in high-sulfur environments. On the basis of workability and microstructural studies involving optical metallography on 100g button ingots soaked at 700°C and air-cooled, a low-alloy composition Fe-12Cr-5Ni-4Al (in wt %) was selected for scale up and property evaluation.

Download Full-text