Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
By using existing networks of trained staff,
cold chains and logistics, clinics, and outreach
services, developing countries can go a long way
in meeting vaccination targets. Some countries
already have immunization networks and services
like family planning, and pre and post-natal care.
Combining these systems with vaccine delivery
and education can definitely provide more ef-
fective adoption and administration of vaccines.
Education programs running in parallel can go a
long way in clearing confusions and dispel myths
about some vaccines, making people more aware
of the benefits of various vaccines.
analysis. AED-SATELLIFE allows even remote
areas to be able to register data. The GATHER-
data application developed by AED allows data
collected on a mobile device to be turned into
useful information with real time access and
automated analysis and reporting support. The
system has been implemented in Uganda and was
also successfully introduced in Mozambique and
South Africa.
Collaborative Medical Applications
In offering assistance to remote patients, it is
necessary to seek expert opinion and advice in
topics that may not be within the expertise of
local health care professionals. When offering
palliative care, access to such information can be
critical. It is vital to have a network of physicians,
pharmacists, doctors, and hospitals available to
remote patients through their local health care
provider at all times. However, lack of proper
communication links and lack of training how
to properly use collaborative medical devices
have been problems preventing the adoption of
these applications. More training is required to
properly use such applications and to encourage
governments to spend more on the technological
infrastructure to allow them to realize their full
potential.
In-Field Data Collections
Governments of developing countries lack proper
capacities for registering health-related data and
this is a major hindrance that stops them from
implementing proper policies. More efforts are
needed to increase the ability of institutions to
collect, analyze, and report health and population
data. It is also necessary to train health personnel
working in the field to deal with survey data and
qualitative techniques to help them do their job
better. Programs are needed to encourage insti-
tutionalization (www.nap.edu, 2010) through on
the job training, data processing systems training,
workshops on data analysis, and the provision of
proper data collection equipment, e.g., mobile
devices handed out to health care professionals
with logging software to report data to a central-
ized database.
A good example of a system relaying health
information in rural areas and allowing health
care workers to log patient data is the AED-
SATELLIFE system (http://www.healthnet.org/,
2010). It equips health care personnel with PDA
systems and allows them to wirelessly transfer
health information using customized data collec-
tion software to their local clinics. These clinics
are required by the program to then regularly
send data on public health programs and routine
epidemiological data to regional health centers for
CHALLENGES IN THE DEPLOYMENT
OF MOBILE HEALTH APPLICATIONS
Mobile technology has reached a stage where
traditional health practices can be modernized
through their usage. Though this technology
has been and is being adopted at a large scale
by physicians in the developed world, there are
major challenges that prevent their widespread
adoption in the developing world. It is important
to point out that developing countries today face a
steady growth in chronic diseases and the burden
of communicable diseases as well. Mobile Health
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