scholarly journals E-Learning for Medical Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and Low-Resource Settings: Viewpoint (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Barteit ◽  
Albrecht Jahn ◽  
Sekelani S Banda ◽  
Till Bärnighausen ◽  
Annel Bowa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Low Resource ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Sub Saharan

UNSTRUCTURED E-learning has been heralded as a revolutionary force for medical education, especially for low-resource countries still suffering from a dire lack of health care workers. However, despite over two decades of e-learning endeavors and interventions across sub-Saharan Africa and other low- and middle-income countries, e-learning for medical education has not gained momentum and continues to fall short of the anticipated revolution. Many e-learning interventions have been cul-de-sac pilots that have not been scaled up but rather terminated after the pilot phase. This is usually a result of not adopting a system-wide approach, which leads to insufficient scope of training, insufficient technological maintenance and user support, unattainably high expectations, and unrealistic financial planning. Thus, a multitude of e-learning evaluations have failed to provide scientifically sound evidence of the effectiveness of e-learning for medical education in low-resource countries. Instead, it appears that technological development has overwhelmed rather than revolutionized medical education. The question of how to push e-learning into a higher gear in low-resource countries persists. Provision of e-learning as a technology is insufficient. E-learning needs to be vigorously and sustainably integrated into the local educational setting and aligned with national strategies and other national endeavors and interventions. Adhering to a standardized framework for the implementation and evaluation of e-learning endeavors is key, especially to bridge the gap in robust evidence that should also guide e-learning implementations. The primary objective of e-learning for medical education is to strengthen the health system in order to serve the population’s health care needs and expectations. Currently, medical e-learning does not measure up to its potential or do justice to medical students in low-resource countries. Technology may help unfold the potential of e-learning, but an all-encompassing change is needed. This can only be achieved through a joint effort that follows a systematic and standardized framework, especially for implementation and evaluation.

scholarly journals E-Learning for Medical Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and Low-Resource Settings: Viewpoint

10.2196/12449 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. e12449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Barteit ◽  
Albrecht Jahn ◽  
Sekelani S Banda ◽  
Till Bärnighausen ◽  
Annel Bowa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Low Resource Settings ◽  
Low Resource ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Detection and Management of Diabetes during Pregnancy in Low Resource Settings: Insights into Past and Present Clinical Practices

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Utz ◽  
Alexandre Delamou ◽  
Loubna Belaid ◽  
Vincent De Brouwere
Keyword(s):  
Gestational Diabetes ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Clinical Practices ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Adequate Treatment ◽  
Low Resource Settings ◽  
Low Resource ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background.Timely and adequate treatment is important to limit complications of diabetes affecting pregnancy, but there is a lack of knowledge on how these women are managed in low resource settings.Objective. To identify modalities of gestational diabetes detection and management in low and lower middle income countries.Methods. We conducted a scoping review of published literature and searched the databases PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and African Index Medicus. We included all articles published until April 24, 2016, containing information on clinical practices of detection and management of gestational diabetes irrespective of publication date or language.Results. We identified 23 articles mainly from Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of studies were conducted in large tertiary care centers and hospital admission was reported in a third of publications. Ambulatory follow-up was generally done by weekly to fortnightly visits, whereas self-monitoring of blood glucose was not the norm. The cesarean section rate for pregnancies affected by diabetes ranged between 20% and 89%. Referral of newborns to special care units was common.Conclusion. The variety of reported provider practices underlines the importance of promoting latest consensus guidelines on GDM screening and management and the dissemination of information regarding their implementation.

scholarly journals Scaling up public mental health care in Sub-Saharan Africa: insights from infectious disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Meffert ◽  
Collene Lawhorn ◽  
Linnet Ongeri ◽  
Elizabeth Bukusi ◽  
Holly R. Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Public Mental Health Care ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Introduction Models estimate that the disability burden from mental disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will more than double in the next 40 years. Similar to HIV, mental disorders are stigmatized in many SSA settings and addressing them requires community engagement and long-term treatment. Yet, in contrast to HIV, the public mental healthcare cascade has not been sustained, despite robust data on scalable strategies. We draw on findings from our International AIDS Society (IAS) 2020 virtual workshop and make recommendations for next steps in the scale up of the SSA public mental healthcare continuum. Discussion Early HIV surveillance and care cascade targets are discussed as important strategies for HIV response in SSA that should be adopted for mental health. Advocacy, including engagement with civil society, and targeted economic arguments to policymakers, are reviewed in the context of HIV success in SSA. Parallel opportunities for mental disorders are identified. Learning from HIV, communication of strategies that advance mental health care needs in SSA must be prioritized for broad global audiences. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic is setting off a colossal escalation of global mental health care needs, well-publicized across scientific, media, policymaker, and civil society domains. The pandemic highlights disparities in healthcare access and reinvigorates the push for universal coverage. Learning from HIV strategies, we must seize this historical moment to improve the public mental health care cascade in SSA and capitalize on the powerful alliances ready to be forged. As noted by Ambassador Goosby in our AIDS 2020 workshop, ‘The time is now’.

Delivering urgent oral healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: supporting sustainable local development

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 69-74
Author(s):  
Rachael England ◽  
Andrew Paterson ◽  
Adam Jones
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Public Health Burden ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
High Level

Oral disease continues to be a public health burden, affecting almost half of the global population, and disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable communities.1 Development organisations use different approaches to tackle this through short-term volunteering programmes in low- and middle-income countries, to address oral health needs in a variety of ways. There is evidence that volunteering requires a high level of cultural competence to avoid negatively impacting on local healthcare systems.2-4 The oral health care needs of communities in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) differ markedly from those in the developed world, posing challenges for volunteering organisations to provide effective programmes in circumstances where there is a lack of resources, equipment and infrastructure.

scholarly journals Cancer Prevention in Low-Resource Countries: An Overview of the Opportunity

2020 ◽  
pp. 72-83
Author(s):  
Sailaja Kamaraju ◽  
Jeffrey Drope ◽  
Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan ◽  
Surendra Shastri
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
Early Detection ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Sub Saharan

Rising trends in the incidence of cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) add to the existing challenges with communicable and noncommunicable diseases. While breast and colorectal cancer incidence rates are increasing in LMICs, the incidence of cervical cancer shows a mixed trend, with rising incidence rates in China and sub-Saharan Africa and declining trends in the Indian subcontinent and South America. The increasing frequencies of unhealthy lifestyles, notably less physical activity, obesity, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption are causing a threat to health care in LMICs. Also, poorly developed health systems tend to have inadequate resources to implement early detection and adequate basic treatment. Inequalities in social determinants of health, lack of awareness of cancer and preventive care, lack of efficient referral pathways and patient navigation, and nonexistent or inadequate health care funding can lead to advanced disease presentation at diagnosis. This article provides an overview of opportunities to address cancer control in LMICs, with a focus on tobacco control, vaccination for cervical cancer, novel tools to assist with early detection, and screening for breast and other cancers.

scholarly journals BioLPG for Clean Cooking in Sub-Saharan Africa: Present and Future Feasibility of Technologies, Feedstocks, Enabling Conditions and Financing

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3916
Author(s):  
Kimball C. Chen ◽  
Matthew Leach ◽  
Mairi J. Black ◽  
Meron Tesfamichael ◽  
Francis Kemausuor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Waste ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
Liquefied Petroleum Gas ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Private Sector Investment ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Public And Private Sector

Energy supply for clean cooking is a priority for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, i.e., propane or butane or a mixture of both) is an economically efficient, cooking energy solution used by over 2.5 billion people worldwide and scaled up in numerous low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Investigation of the technical, policy, economic and physical requirements of producing LPG from renewable feedstocks (bioLPG) finds feasibility at scale in Africa. Biogas and syngas from the circular economic repurposing of municipal solid waste and agricultural waste can be used in two groundbreaking new chemical processes (Cool LPG or Integrated Hydropyrolysis and Hydroconversion (IH2)) to selectively produce bioLPG. Evidence about the nature and scale potential of bioLPG presented in this study justifies further investment in the development of bioLPG as a fuel that can make a major contribution toward enabling an SSA green economy and universal energy access. Techno-economic assessments of five potential projects from Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda illustrate what might be possible. BioLPG technology is in the early days of development, so normal technology piloting and de-risking need to be undertaken. However, fully developed bioLPG production could greatly reduce the public and private sector investment required to significantly increase SSA clean cooking capacity.

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