Information and communication technologies and health in low income countries: the potential and the constraints
01 Jan 2001-Bulletin of The World Health Organization (World Health Organization)-Vol. 79, Iss: 9, pp 850-855
TL;DR: The potential offered by technological progress in the information and communication technologies (ICTs) industries for the health sector in developing countries is outlined, some examples of positive experiences in India are presented, and the difficulties in achieving this potential are considered.
Abstract: This paper outlines the potential offered by technological progress in the information and communication technologies (ICTs) industries for the health sector in developing countries, presents some examples of positive experiences in India, and considers the difficulties in achieving this potential. The development of ICTs can bring about improvements in health in developing countries in at least three ways: as an instrument for continuing education they enable health workers to be informed of and trained in advances in knowledge; they can improve the delivery of health and disaster management services to poor and remote locations; and they can increase the transparency and efficiency of governance, which should, in turn, improve the availability and delivery of publicly provided health services. These potential benefits of ICTs do not necessarily require all the final beneficiaries to be reached directly, thus the cost of a given quantum of effect is reduced. Some current experiments in India, such as the use of Personal Digital Assistants by rural health workers in Rajasthan, the disaster management project in Maharashtra and the computerized village offices in Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry, suggest creative ways of using ICTs to improve the health conditions of local people. However, the basic difficulties encountered in using ICTs for such purposes are: an inadequate physical infrastructure; insufficient access by the majority of the population to the hardware; and a lack of the requisite skills for using them. We highlight the substantial cost involved in providing wider access, and the problem of resource allocation in poor countries where basic infrastructure for health and education is still lacking. Educating health professionals in the possible uses of ICTs, and providing them with access and "connectivity", would in turn spread the benefits to a much wider set of final beneficiaries and might help reduce the digital divide.
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Dissertation•
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the socio-cultural and pedagogical issues that may arise when these assumptions are put into practice in different cultural contexts and conclude that the World Bank needs to adopt a more questioning stance toward the potential effectiveness of innovative delivery.
Abstract: Over the past thirty years, the World Bank has intensified its activities relating to education in developing countries. Notable developments in the World Bank's policy on education include promotion of 'innovative delivery', which refers to the use of new and existing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in education. The World Bank claims that the unique characteristics of ICTs have the potential to produce new forms of delivery in higher education that can overcome existing barriers to education and facilitate student-centred learning (World Bank, 1999, 2005).
Many forms of innovative delivery, such as distance education and open learning, are not new forms of instruction. However, promotion of innovative delivery as a global priority for education in developing countries is new. In this thesis, I interrogate the World Bank's assumptions concerning innovative delivery as expressed in their landmark policy statement on education, the 1999 Education Sector Strategy Report (ES99) (World Bank, 1999). I focus on the assumptions that underlie views put forward in the ES99 on the nature of technology and its role in education, the role of innovative delivery in overcoming existing barriers to education, and the potential of innovative delivery to facilitate student-centred learning. A central aim of this thesis was to better understand the socio-cultural and pedagogical issues that may arise when these assumptions are put into practice in different cultural contexts. This was achieved by comparing the assumptions put forward in the ES99 with the reported perceptions of, attitudes toward, and use of ICTs by students and lecturers from three different cultural contexts.
Qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used to gather detailed empirical data on end-users' perceptions, attitudes to and use of online technologies at universities in Australia, Malaysia and the United States. The findings suggested that across all three cultural contexts, respondents' attitudes were not consistent with the World Bank's technocratic view of innovative delivery. Moreover, the findings cast doubt on the extent to which technology-mediated education can overcome existing barriers to education and facilitate a student-centred approach to education. I conclude by suggesting that the World Bank needs to adopt a more questioning stance toward the potential effectiveness of innovative delivery. Other findings point to the contextual nature of technology adoption and the pedagogical implications of this mode of delivery across cultural contexts.
2 citations
Proceedings Article•
01 Jan 2008TL;DR: The study highlights the importance of ICT use by HSPs and the imperative to align the I CT use expectations, needs and requirements of patients with those of HSPS in Namibia to ensure effective use and formulate strategies and policies to promote the effective adoption of I CT in the healthcare sector.
Abstract: Health service providers (HSP) in both the private and public health service institutions in Namibia have adopted information and communication technologies (ICT) for health service delivery (HSD). The extent to which ICT are currently being used is, however, not yet fully known. Also unknown are the preferences of the HSPs in the use of different types of ICT applications and hardware. Lastly, the perception of HSPs on various issues on the use of ICT for health service delivery is also unknown. Without a clear understanding of these issues, it is difficult for government to formulate strategies and policies to promote the effective adoption of ICT in the healthcare sector. Patients are also likely to make a sub-optimal use of the available ICT to improve their access to health services in Namibia. A study was conducted to address these unknown points. The study highlights the importance of ICT use by HSPs and the imperative to align the ICT use expectations, needs and requirements of patients with those of HSPs in Namibia to ensure effective use. The results of the experiment are reported in this paper.
2 citations
TL;DR: This article provides an overview of the HL7 FHIR Architecture, including the workflow state, linkages, and various informatics approaches used in healthcare units, and discusses future trends and directions in Health Informatics for successful application to provide public health safety.
Abstract: In the current scenario, with a large amount of unstructured data, Health Informatics is gaining traction, allowing Healthcare Units to leverage and make meaningful insights for doctors and decision-makers with relevant information to scale operations and predict the future view of treatments via Information Systems Communication. Now, around the world, massive amounts of data are being collected and analyzed for better patient diagnosis and treatment, improving public health systems and assisting government agencies in designing and implementing public health policies, instilling confidence in future generations who want to use better public health systems. This article provides an overview of the HL7 FHIR Architecture, including the workflow state, linkages, and various informatics approaches used in healthcare units. The article discusses future trends and directions in Health Informatics for successful application to provide public health safety. With the advancement of technology, healthcare units face new issues that must be addressed with appropriate adoption policies and standards.
2 citations
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2005
2 citations
01 Jan 2006
2 citations
Cites background from "Information and communication techn..."
...…facilities often necessitates higher government expenditures on health as a share of the GDP. ICT applications in health: Scope and innovations Chandrasekhar and Ghosh (2001) wrote that the development of ICTs can improve healthcare in developing countries in at least three ways: as a means…...
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References
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Book•
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: The Public Report of Basic Education in India presents a comprehensive evaluation of the educational system in India with an extensive survey of 200 villages in five states.
Abstract: The Public Report of Basic Education in India presents a comprehensive evaluation of the educational system in India. Based on an extensive survey of 200 villages in five states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan, the report gives a voice to thousands of parents, teachers, and children.
439 citations
TL;DR: This is a fascinating collection of essays exploring "why some people are healthy and others not," from a variety of disciplines and theoretical perspectives that challenges the widespread belief that health care is the most important determinant of health and argues for a more comprehensive and coherent understanding of the determinants of health.
Abstract: This is a fascinating collection of essays exploring \"why some people are healthy and others not,\" from a variety of disciplines and theoretical perspectives. It represents the efforts of a group of researchers from diverse backgrounds who have met intermittently over the last five years as part of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Their common focus was to understand the determinants of a population's health. The book's point of departure is that \"factors in the social environment, external to the health care system, exert a major and potentially modifiable influence on the health of populations through biological channels that are just now beginning to be understood.\" (p. 23) Via this observation, the volume challenges the widespread belief that health care is the most important determinant of health and argues for a more comprehensive and coherent understanding of the determinants of health. This thesis is lucidly presented in the introductory chapter. Evans brings together findings from a number of studies that provoke fundamental questions about our understanding of health.
359 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, composite solar cells of improved efficiency comprise two cells of different characteristics arranged in optical series but electrically insulated from each other, each cell is of larger crystal grain size than its substrate, which grain size is achieved by growing the cell semiconductor on a molten intermediate rheotaxy layer of a suitable semi-conductor which solidifies at a temperature below the melting temperature of the solar cell.
Abstract: Composite solar cells of improved efficiency comprise two cells of different characteristics arranged in optical series but electrically insulated from each other. Preferably, each cell is of larger crystal grain size than its substrate, which grain size is achieved by growing the cell semi-conductor on a molten intermediate rheotaxy layer of a suitable semi-conductor which solidifies at a temperature below the melting temperature of the solar cell semi-conductor. The substrate and the intermediate rheotaxy layer of the overlying cell are transparent to that fraction of sunlight which is utilized by the underlying cell. Various configurations of overlying and underlying cells are disclosed.
299 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, the successful use of information and communication technology (ICT) in rural development is discussed, and sixteen case studies are presented, which spell out the various applications of ICT that have made a difference in the delivery of services or products in rural India.
Abstract: This book documents the successful use of information and communication technology (ICT) in rural development. The book begins with an introductory chapter that traces the history of ICT use in rural India, examines some of the problems that have afflicted the implementation of rural development programmes, at the same time showing how ICT applications could help overcome them, assesses the early efforts in ICT use, and proposes a scheme by which to classify ICT applications. Written by administrators who lead projects in their areas, sixteen case studies follow, which spell out the various applications of ICT that have made a difference in the delivery of services or products in rural India. Among the services covered are health care, milk distribution, disaster management, postal services, telephones, and services for the disabled. These applications of ICT cover the use of simple and inexpensive technologies at one end, and sophisticated satellite-based communication at the other. An important collection that delineates the main elements of a strategy that can be used by governmental agencies to derive maximum developmental impact from investments in ICT
85 citations