1,720,965 research outputs found
Application of ICT in Strengthening Health Information Systems in Developing Countries in the Wake of Globalisation.
Get PDFInformation Communication Technology (ICT) revolution brought opportunities and challenges to developing countries in their efforts to strengthen the Health Management Information Systems (HMIS). In the wake of globalisation, developing countries have no choice but to take advantage of the opportunities and face the challenges. The last decades saw developing countries taking action to strengthen and modernise their HMIS using the existing ICT. Due to poor economic and communication infrastructure, the process has been limited to national and provincial/region levels leaving behind majority of health workers living in remote/rural areas. Even those with access do not get maximum benefit from ICT advancements due to inadequacies in data quality and lack of data utilisation. Therefore, developing countries need to make deliberate efforts to address constraints threatening to increase technology gap between urban minority and rural majority by setting up favourable policies and appropriate strategies. Concurrently, strategies to improve data quality and utilisation should be instituted to ensure that HMIS has positive impact on people's health. Potential strength from private sector and opportunities for sharing experiences among developing countries should be utilised. Short of this, advancement in ICT will continue to marginalise health workers in developing countries especially those living in remote areas
Primacy of effective communication and its influence on adherence to artemether-lumefantrine treatment for children under five years of age: a qualitative study.
Get PDFPrompt access to artemesinin-combination therapy (ACT) is not adequate unless the drug is taken according to treatment guidelines. Adherence to the treatment schedule is important to preserve efficacy of the drug. Although some community based studies have reported fairly high levels of adherence, data on factors influencing adherence to artemether-lumefantrine (AL) treatment schedule remain inadequate. This study was carried-out to explore the provider's instructions to caretakers, caretakers' understanding of the instructions and how that understanding was likely to influence their practice with regard to adhering to AL treatment schedule. A qualitative study was conducted in five villages in Kilosa district, Tanzania. In-depth interviews were held with providers that included prescribers and dispensers; and caretakers whose children had just received AL treatment. Information was collected on providers' instructions to caretakers regarding dose timing and how to administer AL; and caretakers' understanding of providers' instructions. Mismatch was found on providers' instructions as regards to dose timing. Some providers' (dogmatists) instructions were based on strict hourly schedule (conventional) which was likely to lead to administering some doses in awkward hours and completing treatment several hours before the scheduled time. Other providers (pragmatists) based their instruction on the existing circumstances (contextual) which was likely to lead to delays in administering the initial dose with serious treatment outcomes. Findings suggest that, the national treatment guidelines do not provide explicit information on how to address the various scenarios found in the field. A communication gap was also noted in which some important instructions on how to administer the doses were sometimes not provided or were given with false reasons. There is need for a review of the national malaria treatment guidelines to address local context. In the review, emphasis should be put on on-the-job training to address practical problems faced by providers in the course of their work. Further research is needed to determine the implication of completing AL treatment prior to scheduled time
FACTORS INFLUENCING QUALITY of HEALTH MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (HMIS) DATA: THE CASE OF KINONDONI DISTRICT IN DAR ES SALAAM REGION, TANZANIA
Get PDFObjective: A study was done in Kinondoni Municipality, Tanzania, to
assess quality of data collected through the HMIS and explore possible
associated factors. Method: Using a structured questionnaire, health
facility in-charges were interviewed. Attributes of data quality were
recorded from health facility data using an observation schedule. A
total of 69 health facilities were involved in the study including all
(21) public health facilities and 25% (41/164) private facilities.
Completion rate of health facility data was used as a proxy for
measuring quality of data. Results: Although knowledge on HMIS basic
concept was found to be associated with improved quality of data,
training in HMIS did not seem to correspond with improved quality of
data. Regardless of duration, supervision had no relationship with
quality of data thus raising serious doubts on its quality. Presence of
a focal person, responsible for day to day HMIS activities, had a
positive influence on the quality of data where facilities with a focal
person had a higher data completion rate (69.9%) compared to those
without (44.7%). Accountability as measured by queries reportedly made
by Municipal authorities on data inaccuracies was associated with
better quality of data. However, queries on delay in sending report had
no influence in quality of data. Conclusion: The study concludes that
training, followed by supervision in HMIS, did not result into a
significant improvement of the quality of HMIS. There is need to
re-examine the current approaches used in training and supervision to
focus on actual needs of health workers. As a long- term goal, creation
of demand for processed data will serve to enhance ownership of the
system by health workers, hence improve data qualit
Le bénévolat chez les éducateurs de pairs qui ne fréquentent plus l’école et qui sont chargés de la santé de reproduction : Est-ce une stratégie durable dans les pays ayant des ressources limitées?
No full textOut-of-school peer educators [PE] are resourceful in transmitting
reproductive health information but their retention remains a
contentious issue. This study aimed to assess motivation and
sustainability of out-of-school PEs in disseminating reproductive
health information among adolescents. A structured questionnaire was
used to interview 406 PEs in Mbeya region, Tanzania. Focus Group
Discussions [FGDs] were also conducted with the PEs and other relevant
stakeholders. Most PEs had hopes for future employment and allowances
through continuous training. The fact that majority of PEs had primary
level education [89%] and were either peasants or self employed [92%]
posed a serious question as to whether voluntary work is for the less
educated, peasants and self-employed. Sustenance of PEs needs to be a
continuous activity aimed at increasing the number of trained
adolescents from their own social and economic groups. Otherwise,
provision of transport and compensation for time spent should be
considered (Afr J Reprod Health 2009; 13[3]:99-110).Les éducateurs de pairs qui ne fréquentent plus
l’école (EPs) sont ingénieux en matière de la
transmission de l’information concernant la santé de
reproduction, mais le problème reste de savoir si l’on doit
les retenir ou non. C’est-a-dire, il faut évaluer la
motivation et la viabilité des EPs qui ne fréquentent plus
l’école par rapport à la dissemination de
l’information sur la santé de reproduction chez les
adolescents. Nous avons interviewé 406 EPs dans la région de
Mbeya en Tanzanie à l’aide d’un questionnaire
structuré. Il y a eu aussi des discussions à groupe cible
(DGC) avec les EPs et les autres intéressés appropriés.
Le fait que la majorité des EPs avaient reçu
l’éducation primaire (89%) et qu’ils étaient soit
des paysans soit des auto-employés (92%) a soulevé une
question importante de savoir si le bénévolat est
destiné au gens moins scolarisés, aux paysans et aux
auto-employés. Il faut que le maintien des besoins des EPs soit
régulier pour les rendre une activité qui visent à
l’augmentation de nombre des adolescents formés à
partir de leurs groupes sociaux et économiques. Sinon, il faut
tenir en compte l’assurance du transport et de la recompensation
pour le temps qu’on a passé (Afr J Reprod Health 2009;
13[3]:99-110)
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Le bénévolat chez les éducateurs de pairs qui ne fréquentent plus l’école et qui sont chargés de la santé de reproduction : Est-ce une stratégie durable dans les pays ayant des ressources limitées?
Get PDFOut-of-school peer educators [PE] are resourceful in transmitting
reproductive health information but their retention remains a
contentious issue. This study aimed to assess motivation and
sustainability of out-of-school PEs in disseminating reproductive
health information among adolescents. A structured questionnaire was
used to interview 406 PEs in Mbeya region, Tanzania. Focus Group
Discussions [FGDs] were also conducted with the PEs and other relevant
stakeholders. Most PEs had hopes for future employment and allowances
through continuous training. The fact that majority of PEs had primary
level education [89%] and were either peasants or self employed [92%]
posed a serious question as to whether voluntary work is for the less
educated, peasants and self-employed. Sustenance of PEs needs to be a
continuous activity aimed at increasing the number of trained
adolescents from their own social and economic groups. Otherwise,
provision of transport and compensation for time spent should be
considered (Afr J Reprod Health 2009; 13[3]:99-110).Les éducateurs de pairs qui ne fréquentent plus
l’école (EPs) sont ingénieux en matière de la
transmission de l’information concernant la santé de
reproduction, mais le problème reste de savoir si l’on doit
les retenir ou non. C’est-a-dire, il faut évaluer la
motivation et la viabilité des EPs qui ne fréquentent plus
l’école par rapport à la dissemination de
l’information sur la santé de reproduction chez les
adolescents. Nous avons interviewé 406 EPs dans la région de
Mbeya en Tanzanie à l’aide d’un questionnaire
structuré. Il y a eu aussi des discussions à groupe cible
(DGC) avec les EPs et les autres intéressés appropriés.
Le fait que la majorité des EPs avaient reçu
l’éducation primaire (89%) et qu’ils étaient soit
des paysans soit des auto-employés (92%) a soulevé une
question importante de savoir si le bénévolat est
destiné au gens moins scolarisés, aux paysans et aux
auto-employés. Il faut que le maintien des besoins des EPs soit
régulier pour les rendre une activité qui visent à
l’augmentation de nombre des adolescents formés à
partir de leurs groupes sociaux et économiques. Sinon, il faut
tenir en compte l’assurance du transport et de la recompensation
pour le temps qu’on a passé (Afr J Reprod Health 2009;
13[3]:99-110)
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
- …
