Health systems analysis of eye care services in Zambia: evaluating progress towards VISION 2020 goals.

BACKGROUND: VISION 2020 is a global initiative launched in 1999 to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020. The objective of this study was to undertake a situation analysis of the Zambian eye health system and assess VISION 2020 process indicators on human resources, equipment and infrastructure. METHODS: All eye health care providers were surveyed to determine location, financing sources, human resources and equipment. Key informants were interviewed regarding levels of service provision, management and leadership in the sector. Policy papers were reviewed. A health system dynamics framework was used to analyse findings. RESULTS: During 2011, 74 facilities provided eye care in Zambia; 39% were public, 37% private for-profit and 24% owned by Non-Governmental Organizations. Private facilities were solely located in major cities. A total of 191 people worked in eye care; 18 of these were ophthalmologists and eight cataract surgeons, equivalent to 0.34 and 0.15 per 250,000 population, respectively. VISION 2020 targets for inpatient beds and surgical theatres were met in six out of nine provinces, but human resources and spectacles manufacturing workshops were below target in every province. Inequalities in service provision between urban and rural areas were substantial. CONCLUSION: Shortage and maldistribution of human resources, lack of routine monitoring and inadequate financing mechanisms are the root causes of underperformance in the Zambian eye health system, which hinder the ability to achieve the VISION 2020 goals. We recommend that all VISION 2020 process indicators are evaluated simultaneously as these are not individually useful for monitoring progress

Vital Sensory Kit For Use With Telemedicine In Developing Countries

In many developing countries, a large percentage of the population lacks access to adequate healthcare. This is especially true in India where close to 70% of the population lives in rural areas and has little to no access to hospitals or clinics. People living in rural India often times cannot afford to pay to see a doctor should they need to make the journey to a hospital. Telemedicine, a breakthrough in the past couple decades, has broken down the barrier between the patient and the physician. It has slowly been implemented in India to make doctors more available to patients through the use of video conferences and other forms of communication. A compact and affordable kit has been developed that will be used to take a patient’s blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose concentration and oxygen saturation. Our most novel contribution is the non-invasive glucose sensor that will use a near-infrared LED and photodiode in the patient’s earlobe. Currently millions of diabetics do this by pricking their finger. By wirelessly sending data results from the vital sign kit, the first essential part of a treatment can be carried out via wireless communication, saving the doctor and patient time and money

Employing Information and Communications Technologies in Homes and Cities for the Health and Well-Being of Older People

YesHe X and Sheriff RE (Eds.) Employing ICT in Homes and Cities for the Health and Well-Being of Older People. Workshop Proceedings of ICT4HOP’16. 15-17 Aug 2016. Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.British Council, Researcher Links, Newton Fund, NSF

Terrestrial Applications of the Thermal Infrared Sensor, TIRS

Landsat satellites have acquired single-band thermal images since 1978. The next satellile in the heritage, Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), is scheduled to launch in December 2012. LDCM will contain the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), where TIRS operates in concert with, but independently of OLI. This paper will provide an overview of the remote sensing instrument TIRS. The T1RS instrument was designed at National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) where it will be fabricated and calibrated as well. Protecting the integrity of the Scientific Data that will be collected from TIRS played a strong role in definition of the calibration test equipment and procedures used for the optical, radiometric, and spatial calibration. The data that will be produced from LCDM will continue to be used world wide for environment monitoring and resource management

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 182, July 1978

This bibliography lists 165 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in June 1978

Prevalence, Correction Coverage, Unmet Need and Impact on the Quality of Life of Presbyopia among Market Traders in Ibadan, Nigeria

Presbyopia is an age-related condition that results from the gradual decline in accommodation leading to inability to focus at near distances. This study sought to determine the prevalence, correction coverage, unmet need and impact on the quality of life of presbyopia among Bodija market traders in Ibadan, Nigeria. A cross sectional study was conducted on 314 participants aged 35 years and older selected by a non-probability sampling method. Their near vision was tested and corrected to the nearest diopter. Presbyopia was defined as being able to read the N8 optotype at a distance of 40 cm after correction with plus lens of at least one diopter. The prevalence of presbyopia was 46.8% (95% CI: 41.20, 52.5). The prevalence was significantly higher in those aged 50 years or more (95% CI: 2.98, 7.77), in females (95% CI: 1.45, 3.64) and in individuals with no formal education (95%CI: 3.32, 10.91). The presbyopia correction coverage was 29.9% and unmet need was = 70.1%. The major barriers reported as reasons for not obtaining near vision spectacles were lack of money and spectacles not being a priority. Presbyopes reported more difficulty with near work (p<0.001). The prevalence of presbyopia in Bodija market is relatively low compared to other reports with major risk factors being increasing age, female gender and no formal education. Presbyopia correction coverage is low with high unmet need it is important to create awareness and provide affordable and accessible near vision spectacles for those in need

Aerospace Medicine and Biology. A continuing bibliography (Supplement 226)

This bibliography lists 129 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in November 1981

The Internet of Things Will Thrive by 2025

This report is the latest research report in a sustained effort throughout 2014 by the Pew Research Center Internet Project to mark the 25th anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-LeeThis current report is an analysis of opinions about the likely expansion of the Internet of Things (sometimes called the Cloud of Things), a catchall phrase for the array of devices, appliances, vehicles, wearable material, and sensor-laden parts of the environment that connect to each other and feed data back and forth. It covers the over 1,600 responses that were offered specifically about our question about where the Internet of Things would stand by the year 2025. The report is the next in a series of eight Pew Research and Elon University analyses to be issued this year in which experts will share their expectations about the future of such things as privacy, cybersecurity, and net neutrality. It includes some of the best and most provocative of the predictions survey respondents made when specifically asked to share their views about the evolution of embedded and wearable computing and the Internet of Things

Does Telecare Improve Interorganisational Collaboration?

Introduction: Previous studies have suggested that telecare can improve interorganisational collaboration within fragmented health care systems, yet this outcome has not been examined in a large-scale setting. This study explores the effects of a large-scale interorganisational telecare programme in Denmark based on home-monitoring on collaboration in a telecare network between municipalities, hospitals, and general practitioners. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews and observations of collaborating health professionals from the municipalities, hospitals, and general practitioners were undertaken and then repeated a year later. Collaboration was analysed both at the interorganisational network level and within each part of the network, including its interrelations. Results: Collaboration between municipalities and general practitioners was initially intensified as a result of implementing telecare, though this changed over time as the first start-up obstacles were overcome and the patients became more active in their treatment. Conversely, collaboration between 'hospitals and municipalities' and 'hospitals and general practitioners' was unaffected by telecare. Discussion: Changes in collaboration among municipal nurses, general practitioners, and hospital staff were related to dependency structures and municipalities’ newly gained central role in a telecare network. While the telecare network was initially characterised by asymmetrical dependency structures, these were partially equalised over time because of the municipalities’ new position in the network