Disease surveillance and patient care in remote regions: an exploratory study of collaboration among healthcare professionals in Amazonia

The development and deployment of information technology, particularly mobile tools, to support collaboration between different groups of healthcare professionals has been viewed as a promising way to improve disease surveillance and patient care in remote regions. The effects of global climate change combined with rapid changes to land cover and use in Amazonia are believed to be contributing to the spread of vector-borne emerging and neglected diseases. This makes empowering and providing support for local healthcare providers all the more important. We investigate the use of information technology in this context to support professionals whose activities range from diagnosing diseases and monitoring their spread to developing policies to deal with outbreaks. An analysis of stakeholders, their roles and requirements, is presented which encompasses results of fieldwork and of a process of design and prototyping complemented by questionnaires and targeted interviews. Findings are analysed with respect to the tasks of diagnosis, training of local healthcare professionals, and gathering, sharing and visualisation of data for purposes of epidemiological research and disease surveillance. Methodological issues regarding the elicitation of cooperation and collaboration requirements are discussed and implications are drawn with respect to the use of technology in tackling emerging and neglected diseases

Holistic System Design for Distributed National eHealth Services

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Agile Software Development and Software Practitioners Productivity Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review

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Health departments : Interim guidance on developing a COVID-19 case Investigation & contact tracing plan

This interim guidance document is intended to assist state, local, territorial and tribal health departments develop jurisdictional plans for the implementation and enhancement of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing efforts.cdc.gov/coronavirusCS317074-A June 1, 2020 8:55 PMcase-investigation-contact-tracing.pdfI. Introduction-- II. Scaling up Staffing Roles Involved in Case Investigation & Contact Tracing-- III. When to Initiate Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Activities-- IV. Investigating a COVID-19 Case-- V. Contact Tracing for COVID-19-- VI. Outbreaks-- VII. Special Considerations .-- VIII. Building Community Support-- IX. Data Management-- X. Evaluating Success-- XI. Confidentiality and Consent-- XII. Support Services to Consider-- XIII. Digital Contact Tracing Tools-- XIV. Resources-- Appendix A\u2014Glossary of Key Terms . -- Appendix B\u2014Tips for Locating COVID-1 Cases and Contacts-- Appendix C\u2014Data Elements for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Forms-- Appendix D\u2014Tool for Estimating the Number of Contact Tracers Needed -- Parameter values used for high and low estimates.2020775

Health departments : Interim guidance on developing a COVID-19 case Investigation & contact tracing plan

This interim guidance document is intended to assist state, local, territorial and tribal health departments develop jurisdictional plans for the implementation and enhancement of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing efforts.cdc.gov/coronavirusCS317074-A May 15, 2020 1:54 PMcase-investigation-contact-tracing.pdfI. Introduction-- II. Scaling up Staffing Roles Involved in Case Investigation & Contact Tracing-- III. When to Initiate Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Activities-- IV. Investigating a COVID-19 Case-- V. Contact Tracing for COVID-19-- VI. Outbreaks-- VII. Special Considerations .-- VIII. Building Community Support-- IX. Data Management-- X. Evaluating Success-- XI. Confidentiality and Consent-- XII. Support Services to Consider-- XIII. Digital Contact Tracing Tools-- XIV. Resources-- Appendix A\u2014Glossary of Key Terms . -- Appendix B\u2014Tips for Locating COVID-1 Cases and Contacts-- Appendix C\u2014Data Elements for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Forms-- Appendix D\u2014Tool for Estimating the Number of Contact Tracers Needed.2020767

Health departments : Interim buidance on developing a COVID-19 case investigation & contact tracing plan

Last updated May 13, 2020This interim guidance document is intended to assist state, local, territorial and tribal health departments develop jurisdictional plans for the implementation and enhancement of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing efforts.case-investigation-contact-tracing.pdfI. Introduction -- II. Scaling Up Staffing Roles Involved in Case Investigation & Contact Tracing -- III. When to Initiate Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Activities -- IV. Investigating a COVID-19 Case -- V. Contact Tracing for COVID-19 -- VI. Outbreaks -- VII. Special Considerations -- VIII. Building Community Support -- IX. Data Management -- X. Evaluating Success -- XI. Confidentiality and Consent -- XII. Support Services to Consider -- XIII. Digital Contact Tracing Tools -- XIV. Resources -- Appendix A \u2013 Glossary of Key Terms -- Appendix B - Tips for Locating COVID-19 Cases and Contacts -- Appendix C - Data Elements for Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Forms Appendix D \u2013 Tool for Estimating the Number of Contact Tracers Needed.2020766

Health departments : Interim buidance on developing a COVID-19 case investigation & contact tracing plan

This interim guidance document is intended to assist state, local, territorial and tribal health departments develop jurisdictional plans for the implementation and enhancement of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing efforts.Content will be updated as new information is available.Case investigation* and contact tracing are fundamental activities that involve working with a patient (symptomatic and asymptomatic) who has been diagnosed with an infectious disease to identify and provide support to people (contacts) who may have been infected through exposure to the patient. This process prevents further trans- mission of disease by separating people who have (or may have) an infectious disease from people who do not.It is a core disease control measure that has been employed by public health agency personnel for decades. Case investigation and contact tracing are most effective when part of a multifaceted response to an outbreak.CS317074-A June 19, 2020 3:35 PMcase-investigation-contact-tracing.pdfI. Introduction -- II. Scaling up Staffing Roles Involved in Case Investigation & Contact Tracing -- III. When to Initiate Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Activities -- IV. Investigating a COVID-19 Case -- Box 1. COVID-19 Case Investigation Hierarchy -- V. Contact Tracing for COVID-19 -- VI. Outbreaks -- VII. Special Considerations -- VIII. Building Community Support -- IX. Data Management -- X. Evaluating Success -- XI. Confidentiality and Consent -- XII. Support Services to Consider -- XIII. Digital Contact Tracing Tools -- XI. Resources -- Appendix A\u2014Glossary of Key Terms -- Appendix B\u2014Tips for Locating COVID-19 Cases and Contacts -- Appendix C\u2014Data Elements for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Forms -- Appendix D\u2014Tool for Estimating the Number of Contact Tracers Needed -- Parameter values used for high and low estimates.2020795

Development of the Caregiver-Child Auditory Skills Tracking (CAST) scale: A Pilot Study on Caregiver Implementation via International Telepractice

Parent engagement is a key component during early language development for all children, but particularly for a child with hearing loss. Through the application of technology-based models of service delivery such as telehealth, researchers have found an increase in parent-child engagement during auditory-verbal therapy (AVT) sessions due to the physical absence of the provider and parents becoming the primary language facilitators. However, current measures of parent-child interactions do not have a coding system to monitor facilitation of auditory skills. This present study will discuss the development of the Caregiver-Child Auditory Skills Tracking (CAST) Scale to track progress of caregiver implementation of the auditory skill hierarchy. Initial development included using the CAST scale for a pilot case study of parent interaction during 2 sessions (6 months) of auditory-based sessions via international telehealth. The participants were Spanish-speaking parents of a 2-year-old child with bilateral cochlear implants who reside in Mexico and received intervention from an Arkansas-based clinician. Parent interactions were qualitatively coded by graduate student clinicians using the CAST scale to rate implementation of auditory skill hierarchy stages. Data was coded twice (approximately 4 weeks apart) for both sessions on the auditory skills strategies data sheet developed by the researchers. The statistical analysis performed on the data collection was a repeated measures ANOVA. The results of the analysis found that there is a significant effect of time on both session conditions (rating one and rating two). Specifically, the rater’s auditory skills training had a statistically significant effect on auditory skills strategies data. Additionally, telehealth was observed to increase parent engagement in both sessions. These findings provide a guideline towards continued progression of the CAST scale and adds to research that supports telehealth as a viable option of speech-language pathology service delivery