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Nov 25, 2014
BroadReach improving healthcare in South Africa
For authorities to make informed decisions, they need accurate and reliable data. This is true for healthcare decisions too. An article in AfricanHealthITNews says BroadReach Healthcare is helping authorities do just that. It’s providing administrators with an easy-to-use system which they can use to compare key metrics across their facilities and districts.
Nov 24, 2014
Innovating for a healthy future
It’s easy to take for granted just how amazing vaccines are, particularly where killer diseases have become all but a distant memory. We have seen smallpox eradicated and endemic wild poliovirus wiped out in all but three countries; between 2002 and 2013, coverage of routine immunization, such as diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccines, has increased from 73 per cent to 84 per cent. More than 200 years after Edward Jenner’s first pioneering work, vaccines continue to be one of the most efficient, innovative and cost-effective ways of saving children’s lives.
Nov 21, 2014
Global Routine Vaccination Coverage, 2013
In 1974, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Expanded Program on Immunization to ensure that all children have access to routinely recommended vaccines. Since then, global coverage with the four core vaccines (Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine [for protection against tuberculosis], diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine [DTP], polio vaccine, and measles vaccine) has increased from <5% to ≥84%, and additional vaccines have been added to the recommended schedule.
Nov 21, 2014
Africa Nears Eradication of Polio
One month after quelling its deadly Ebola outbreak, Nigeria stands poised to make another public-health triumph—the near-eradication of polio.
Since 2012, when the World Health Organization declared the crippling infectious disease a “global-health emergency,” the West African country (the last center of polio on the continent) has overhauled its strategies for combating the scourge. Now, through rigorous vaccination campaigns, Nigeria is on the verge of eliminating the virus and making Africa polio-free, the CDC reported Thursday.
Nov 20, 2014
Dialing for Data: The Story of a High Frequency Phone Survey in Liberia
Yesterday the World Bank released their first report on the socioeconomic impacts of Ebola that was based on household data.
There often seems to be an inverse relationship between the usefulness of data and the difficulties involved in collecting it. Emerging crises require timely information to target interventions, but these situations also face the most extreme capacity and frequent delays.
Nov 19, 2014
How can you learn from healthcare data?
Benjamin Franklin, sometimes described as the first American, said “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” It’s had a lasting effect across almost four centuries, and forms a foundation for leaders and organisations. The USA’s Institute of Medicine (IOM) has published Making the Case for Continuous Learning from Routinely Collected Data.
Nov 19, 2014
Supporting Immunization Managers in their Fight to Save Lives
Immunization managers are on the front lines of global health, helping expand the full benefits of immunization to all people. Through effective management of the many elements of an immunization program, immunization managers bring the world closer to achieving the goals outlined in the Global Vaccine Action Plan.
Nov 15, 2014
Data and development: Off the map
AFRICA is the continent of missing data. Fewer than half of births are recorded; some countries have not taken a census in several decades. On maps only big cities and main streets are identified; the rest looks as empty as the Sahara. Lack of data afflicts other developing regions, too. The self-built slums that ring many Latin American cities are poorly mapped, and even estimates of their population are vague. Afghanistan is still using census figures from 1979—and that count was cut short after census-takers were killed by mujahideen.
Nov 14, 2014
HIE works for Maryland USA
Sharing health information has many claimed benefits. A report in iHealthBeat says the Maryland’s Health Information Exchange (HIE) is showing that they are achievable. Using the HIE, these healthcare providers can share millions of patient records to identify and map disease hotspots in real time. The data helps providers to respond promptly and effectively.
Nov 14, 2014
Using Mobile Technology To Overcome Jurisdictional Challenges To A Coordinated Immunization Policy
On March 20, 2014, the Government of Canada and the federal Minister of Health announced the release of ImmunizeCanada (ImmunizeCA), a smart phone application (app) designed to both provide accurate information on immunization for Canadians and allow them to track their and their family members’ immunizations. Based on a prototype developed for parents in Ontario and in partnership with the Canadian Public Health Association, our development team received funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada to build a national immunization app. Our task was to build an Apple- and Android-compatible app, containing all 13 provincial/territorial schedules and vaccine information from each jurisdiction in both Canadian official languages (French and English).