Open Journals@UKZN
Not a member yet
870 research outputs found
Sort by
‘Citizens of both Heaven and Earth’: Pentecostalism and Social Transformation in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya
Get PDFAs Pentecostalism enjoys unparalleled growth in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, greater attention has been paid to its problematic expressions by some scholars. Media images of the abuse of believers in different contexts have been widely circulated. These include sexual abuse by charismatic (male) prophets, financial scandals, as well as the degrading treatment of clients/members by forcing them to eat grass/snakes and other questionable acts. While conceding that these aspects are challenging, this article seeks to provide a more balanced perspective by highlighting the extent to which selected Pentecostal churches in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya have sought to contribute to social reconstruction in their respective countries. By examining the sermons and teachings on personal responsibility and having effective marriages by the Pentecostal leaders, the article contends that they mobilise their members and audiences to become agents of social transformation. The article highlights the potential role of Pentecostalism in social reconstruction in the selected countries
"Retail Teleclinics"-A Low Cost Scalable Healthcare Delivery Model for Rural India
Get PDFRural India has an acute shortage of doctors whereas urban India is over supplied. Many medical graduates are reluctant to serve in rural areas due to poor civic structures. By adopting technology we planned to strike a balance in this disparity. Our project AWISH is a social enterprise. AWISH in Sanskrit means “to reach” which denotes the mission motto-providing medical consultations in rural areas by utilising telemedicine. We have evolved an efficient, cost-effective, sustainable, scalable healthcare delivery model after pilot project, “AWISH retail teleclinics”. We have identified, recruited and trained the pharmacy owners in rural areas who provide a 4ftx4ft space in their pharmacy for a teleclinic facility. The Teleclinic is equipped with a computer, LED TV, printer, broadband Internet, pulseoxymeter, glucometer, digital thermometer and BP apparatus. Special videoconferencing software which works on 256KBPS bandwidth is provided. The pharmacist is trained to use the equipment and the approximate cost to the pharmacist for the equipment is around US$1,000. Free consultations are provided for three months and the telemedicine GP runs free medical camps weekly for three months. This familiarises the doctor with the patients, and also increased pharmacy revenue. Medical consultations were provided by our parent institute-Nightingale Multi-specialty Hospital where a dedicated telemedicine wing has been setup. For all patients general consultations are provided. Specialist consultations are provided when required. Currently we are operating 10 Teleclinics and planning to scale up to 100 in a year. All the pharmacy owners have recovered their investment. Present average footfalls are 20 per day in each centre. Our audit results on the project’s social and financial impact are promising. For a developing country with poor primary healthcare in rural areas the only resort is dependency on quacks which many a times proves to be problematic to the uneducated population. Our model has proved to be an economical and effective solution
PPSUS: Use of Technology of Information in Primary Care Through the Virtual Mobile Clinic System in the State of Amazonas
No full textThe Amazon is a large state, which hinders access to healthcare for residents of the most remote areas. The project evaluated the use of Information and Communication Technologies in primary care, through the virtual clinic system mobile and a mobile communication device (tablet). The project was developed over 24 months. In the first 12 months the virtual clinic was developed, technical teams were capacitated and participation of municipalities approved. In all, 30 municipalities where selected with 15 receiving the tablet and 15 only having access to the virtual clinic. Over the following 12 months the teleconsultation and tele-education activities were monitoring, and project evaluation undertaken. Between June 2015 and July 2016 there were 386 teleconsultation, of which 250 (64.8%) came from the participating municipalities of the PPSUS project using the tablet, 21 (5.4%) from those without tablet and 115 (29.8%) were from municipalities not participating in the project. The advantages of use of both the mobile device and the virtual clinic were verified through the analysis of the evaluation forms and the data of Telehealth Platform. The need for innovation in health practices, especially with regard to care in the State of Amazonas was also verified. There is a strong need to institutionalise the use of Telehealth Platform, and improve available technology with updated tools and good Internet connection. The project was successful in developing the project and collecting data, providing evidence of the need to improve the health services offered to the population and the importance of general medical monitoring as a precursor of teleconsultation by medical experts in order to minimise social and financial impacts, avoid unnecessary travel and procedures
Online Academic Journey: Students’ Profile and Evaluation Through Different Digital Media in Dentistry
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to present an academic event in the online version and evaluate the user’s profile who have signed up and the different digital media used by them. The Dentistry School of State University of Rio de Janeiro performed its first Online Academic Journey, available for free on your Moodle platform for participants who have registered, with five different courses: Computerised Tomography, Endodontic, Aesthetic, Implantology and Periodontology. In order to receive course certificates participants had to complete an evaluation form. The results (quantitative and qualitative) were obtained using data from Facebook, Youtube, Moodle platform and Google forms showed that: most of the participants were from the Southeast region of Brazil (80.6%), 69% of users were female aged between 18 to 35 years, professional dentist activity (70.1%) with graduation academic level (89.4%), 80% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the courses and the device most used by users to watch the courses was the computer (70%) followed by smartphone (21%). We conclude that the methodology used was an innovative experience and provided quality information to different profiles in different regions. The use of different media and technological tools for conducting an online academic journey provides very important resource in disseminating quality academic content, not only for users of the institution that performs as well as geographically distant places
Implementation and Assessment of a Tele-Dermatology Strategy for Identification and Treatment of Skin Lesions in Elderly People
Get PDFIntroduction: The world’s population is living longer which is resulting in a higher incidence of pressure ulcers. Objectives: (1) To describe the implementation of a teledermatology strategy to identify and treat skin lesions in institutionalised elderly patients; (2) To evaluate the established teledermatology strategy. Method: This study was carried out in a geriatric home (AMP) in Brazil, and included: (1) Implementation of a teledermatology method; (2) Evaluation of the strategy through: a) professional knowledge assessment, b) professional satisfaction, c) clinical aspects evaluation. Results: (1) The team consisted of a remote consulting team, local care team, dermatologist and infectologist. Digital records of skin lesions and weekly monitoring was implemented and was standardised using the iPhone 5’s camera coupled with a dermatoscope in cases of minor lesions. Data were stored in the cloud using FotoFinder HubⓇ. (2) Professionals' knowledge (n=24): age 34.6±7.3 years; 16 responded to the post-test and there was no difference between the 2 tests (86.8± 7.1 and 84.5±9.5, P=0.38). Professional satisfaction (n=17): 16 (94.2%) showed interest in indicating this type of assistance modality to another professional. Clinical aspects’ evaluation: hypertension had the highest prevalence, 9 (50%). Pressure ulcers were identified in 18 patients (83.3%), the heels, 7 cases, were the most affected area (39%). Healing Process: 4 lesions (22.2%) took over 3 months to complete the re-epithelialisation and 6 patients (33.3%) died before the end of treatment. Conclusion: The proposed teledermatology strategy has resulted in better assistance for elderly patients
Telehealth and Tele-Education Using Mobile Platforms – Una-Sus Amazônia
Get PDFThe UNA-SUS (SUS Open University) project aims to meet the training needs and continuing education of health professionals working in the SUS (Health Unic System), offering courses with dynamic perspective using trivial clinical events. But, one of the characteristics of UNA-SUS courses was the requirement of online access, making it difficult to professional connection of the most remote and underserved areas, specifically in isolated municipalities, indigenous areas and throughout the Legal Amazon. Because of this the UNA-SUS Amazônia project, which seeks to address the issue of access to training and information, through the development of technologies, including mobile applications that provide educational resources offline was implemented. The solution is based on local data storage and synchronisation (upload and download) when there is an available connection, always taking into account the displacement of the professional. In addition, the project aims to incorporate new interactive technologies, such as virtual reality environments and extended reality
Prospective Clinical Registry to Evaluate Clinical Outcomes of Hypertension Patients in a Multidisciplinary Clinic
Get PDFIntroduction: clinical registries are necessary to define public policies for treatment and prevention, by providing highly accurate and interoperable data. Objective: to describe the implementation of a prospective, computerised, interoperable and multidisciplinary clinical registry to evaluate the clinical practice and outcomes of hypertensive patients. Methods: prospective observational study designed as a clinical registry carried out in a multidisciplinary hypertension clinic, in Brazil. A multi-professional team attends the patients. The database included patients with primary hypertension, above 18 years of age. Patients who had undergone surgery, a stroke, myocardial infarction, or renal failure were excluded. Variables were defined in accordance with national and international variables to allow interoperability. Results: the RE-HYPER registry was implemented by following the steps: (1) Data standardisation. The dataset included all applicable standardised data elements published by the American Heart Association / American College of Cardiology, and Brazilian national datasets standards; (2) Development of an initial data collection and clinical research workflow; (3) Development of electronic case reports (CRF) using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) and in accordance with the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) privacy rule; (4) Pilot testing and validation of the data collection and clinical research workflows and CRFs, and (5) Development of automated data quality report using REDCap. Discussion: Due to the magnitude of this disease in the world, this study becomes relevant to clinical practice. Conclusion: The study showed reproducible standards and solutions that can be applied in the implementation of health records, allowing data integration between health and research services
Digital Pathology and Telepathology in Transplantation: Feasibility With the EHR
Get PDFDigital pathology and telepathology play an emerging role conveying anatomical pathology diagnostic images in the Electronic Health Record. We sought to focus our attention to an innovative project, while identifying standards and practices between clinicians and the EHR (Electronic Health Record). The project aims at developing a second opinion network, based on telepathology, between two major transplantation centres over two years. The health authorities involved are the Hospital Trust of Verona and of Padua (Italy). In 2015 there were 376 renal and liver transplantations for both centres. We expect to significantly improve the transplantation workflow after combining the digital pathology platform with its proper and timely application in the telepathology network. Firstly it will allow the real time second opinion between pathologists in order to assess the suitability of the donor organs, avoiding the glass-slide transfer, with potential damage or loss. The technical partners delivered two slide scanners and software solutions to enable virtual microscopy and web-based digital slide sharing with storage resources. In addition, the project comprises an online survey which focuses on the accountability of the system, the user perception, and a concordance study for the project outcomes evaluation. The technical transactions between all the main actors and digital slides will be reviewed and updated in order to meet the integration standards and guideline according to IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) initiative, Digital Imaging and COmmunications in Medicine (DICOM) and Health Level 7 (HL7). According to the first comparisons, we believe that the efforts to provide this new diagnostic imaging area to the actual EHR developments, will be rewarding and effective for the saving-life transplantation processes
Implementing an Electrocardiography Telediagnostic Service in Pernambuco, Brazil
Get PDFIn Brazil, cardiovascular diseases account for more than 10% of hospital admissions, and are considered a significant contributor to healthcare costs. One of the most frequently ordered diagnostic tests in the investigation of cardiovascular diseases is the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). Cardiologists are not widely available to provide reports in small municipalities in Brazil, and eHealth services can be a feasible alternative to low resource environments. The use of tele-electrocardiography (Tele-ECG) can improve the management of patients and support decision making regarding referral to advanced medical centres. This study describes the implementation of a telediagnostic service for Tele-ECG in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The service was provided as a campaign in each community and was conducted by a team composed of a nurse and a technician from the university telehealth unit using a telehealth platform HealthNet, a laptop and a mobile digital electrocardiograph. In 2016, 34 visits were held to municipalities in Pernambuco, with 6,138 ECGs performed on patients from waiting lists, 63.5% of whom had never had an ECG, with 39.6%of the tests showing evidences of abnormal clinical situations and 0.1%) showing artefacts. The field interventions highlighted the contribution of telehealth as a feasible strategy to enhance access to care and reducing time to ECG reports, the need for patient transportation and costs for the Brazilian healthcare system, the Unified Health System. Considering the restricted budgets of the municipalities to acquire digital devices to perform ECGs and the shortage of specialised medical staff, the success of this field intervention increased the interest of public managers for telediagnostic services
Does financial assistance undermine academic success? Experiences of ‘at risk’ students in a South African university
Get PDFIn the current #FeesMustFall activism, financial relief and support for higher education students are promoted as strategies to enhance access, persistence and progression in higher education. However, despite the increases in government and allied funding for higher education students, high-attrition and unsustainably low graduation rates persist. This reality has dire consequences for individual students, their families and the capacity of higher education to meet the development needs of the country. This article draws on data from an ethnographic study which used interpretive methods to explore the academic experiences of South African university students who despite receiving financial assistance for their studies, continued to be classified ‘at-risk’ of academic failure and exclusion. The findings suggest that an ostensibly positive outcome (such as receiving financial assistance) may have unintended negative academic consequences, including increasing students’ risk of academic exclusion, by virtue of the tendency for such funds to be utilised to ameliorate family poverty. While the cultural capital framework is a valuable tool in understanding student spending behaviours from economically advantaged communities, its explanatory power diminishes when applied to students from low socio-economic backgrounds, who manage competing demands on their student funding. The authors signal the need for higher education institutions to design alternative funding models and interventions to curb financial illiteracy in order to minimise the potential for misappropriation of financial assistance, which compromises academic success