scholarly journals Teleophthalmology and its evolving role in a COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-76
Author(s):  
Jiamin Charmaine Chong ◽  
Chai-Hoon Nowel Tan ◽  
David Z Chen

ABSTRACT Introduction: Teleophthalmology may assist the healthcare sector in adapting to limitations imposed on clinical practice by a viral pandemic. A scoping review is performed in this study to assess the current applications of teleophthalmology for its suitability to diagnose, monitor or manage ophthalmological conditions with accuracy. Methods: A search of PubMed was conducted for teleophthalmology-related articles published from 1 January 2018 to 4 May 2020. Only articles that focused on the use of teleophthalmology in terms of diagnosis and management, as well as its benefits and detriments, were included. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to assess the quality of the included articles. Results: A total of 38 articles were assessed at the full-text level. There were 2 qualitative studies and 1 quantitative randomised controlled trial, while the majority were either quantitative descriptive studies (19, 50.0%) or quantitative non-randomised studies (16, 42.1%). Overall, 8 studies described reducing manpower requirements, 4 described reducing direct patient–doctor contact, 17 described storage of medical imaging and clinical data, and 9 described real-time teleconferencing. The MMAT analysis revealed limitations in appropriate sampling strategy in both quantitative non-randomised studies (9 of 16, 56.3%) and quantitative descriptive studies (9 of 19, 47.4%). Cost-effectiveness of teleophthalmology was not performed in any included study. Conclusion: This current review of the various aspects of teleophthalmology describes how it may potentially assist the healthcare sector to cope with the limitations imposed by a viral pandemic through technology. Further research is required to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the various strategies. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, health informatics, ophthalmology, teleconsultation, telemedicine

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e042365
Author(s):  
Jessica Leight ◽  
Negussie Deyessa ◽  
Vandana Sharma

ObjectivesExperience of intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with adverse health and psychosocial outcomes for women. However, rigorous economic evaluations of interventions targeting IPV prevention are rare. This paper analyses the cost-effectiveness of Unite for a Better Life (UBL), a gender-transformative intervention designed to prevent IPV and HIV risk behaviours among men, women and couples.DesignWe use an economic evaluation nested within a large-scale cluster randomised controlled trial, analysing financial and economic costs tracked contemporaneously.SettingUBL was implemented in rural southern Ethiopia between 2013 and 2015.ParticipantsThe randomised controlled trial included 6770 households in 64 villages.InterventionsUBL is an intervention delivered within the context of the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, a culturally established forum for community discussion, and designed to assist participants to build skills for healthy, non-violent, equitable relationships.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThis paper reports on the unit cost and cost-effectiveness of the interventions implemented. Cost-effectiveness is measured as the cost per case of past-year physical and/or sexual IPV averted.ResultsThe estimated annualised cost of developing and implementing UBL was 2015 US$296 772, or approximately 2015 US$74 per individual directly participating in the intervention and 2015 US$5 per person annually for each community-level beneficiary (woman of reproductive age in intervention communities). The estimated cost per case of past-year physical and/or sexual IPV averted was 2015 US$2726 for the sample of direct beneficiaries, and 2015 US$194 for the sample of all community-level beneficiaries.ConclusionsUBL is an effective and cost-effective intervention for the prevention of IPV in a low and middle-income country setting. Further research should explore strategies to quantify the positive effects of the intervention across other domains.Trial registration numberNCT02311699 (ClinicalTrials.gov); AEARCTR-0000211 (AEA Registry)


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. e000526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Greco ◽  
Louise Knight ◽  
Willington Ssekadde ◽  
Sophie Namy ◽  
Dipak Naker ◽  
...  

IntroductionThis paper presents the cost and cost-effectiveness of the Good School Toolkit (GST), a programme aimed at reducing physical violence perpetrated by school staff to students in Uganda.MethodsThe effectiveness of the Toolkit was tested with a cluster randomised controlled trial in 42 primary schools in Luwero District, Uganda. A full economic costing evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis were conducted alongside the trial. Both financial and economic costs were collected retrospectively from the provider’s perspective to estimate total and unit costs.ResultsThe total cost of setting up and running the Toolkit over the 18-month trial period is estimated at US$397 233, excluding process monitor (M&E) activities. The cost to run the intervention is US$7429 per school annually, or US$15 per primary school pupil annually, in the trial intervention schools. It is estimated that the intervention has averted 1620 cases of past-week physical violence during the 18-month implementation period. The total cost per case of violence averted is US$244, and the annual implementation cost is US$96 per case averted during the trial.ConclusionsThe GST is a cost-effective intervention for reducing violence against pupils in primary schools in Uganda. It compares favourably against other violence reduction interventions in the region.


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