Adoption of Free Open Source Geographic Information System Solution for Health Sector in Zanzibar Tanzania

\ud The study aims at developing in-depth understanding on how Open Source Geographic Information System technology is used to provide solutions for data visualization in the health sector of Zanzibar, Tanzania. The study focuses on implementing the health visualization solutions for the purpose of bridging the gap during the transition period from proprietary software to the Free Open-Source Software using Key Indicator Data System. The developed tool facilitates data integration between the two District Health Information Software versions and hence served as a gateway solution during the transition process. Implementation challenges that include outdated spatial data and the reluctance of the key users in coping with the new Geographical Information System technologies were also identified. Participatory action research and interviews were used in understanding the requirements for the new tool to facilitate the smooth system development for better health service delivery.\u

Working with communities to save lives in Africa : the President's Malaria Initiative : third annual report.

PMI is an interagency initiative led by USAID and implemented together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease. It remains one of the major causes of illness and death among children in Africa, and is estimated to account for 300million to 500 million illnesses and nearly 1 million deaths each year, with 90 percent of those deaths in children under five years of age. Malaria also places a tremendous burden on national health systems and individual families. Economists estimate that malaria accounts for approximately 40 percent of public health expenditures in Africa and causes an annual loss of 12billion, or 1.3 percent of the continent\ue2\u20ac\u2122s gross domestic product. Malaria and poverty are closely linked; the greatest burden of malaria usually falls on residents of rural areas, where access to health care is limited by cost or distance. As a result, the control of malaria is a major objective of the U.S. foreign assistance program. The President\ue2\u20ac\u2122s Malaria Initiative (PMI) is a historic1.2 billion, five-year expansion of U.S. Government (USG) resources to reduce the intolerable burden of malaria and help relieve poverty on the African continent. The goal of PMI is to reduce malaria-related deaths by 50 percent in 15 countries with a high burden of malaria by expanding coverage of four highly effective malaria prevention and treatment measures to 85 percent of the most vulnerable populations--pregnant women and children under five years of age. Progress under PMI in scaling up malaria prevention and control interventions during the last 36 months has been dramatic. The belief that malaria in sub-Saharan Africa really can be controlled is already being substantiated with clear evidence of reductions in malaria burden in many of the PMI focus countries.Abbreviations and acronyms/Executive summary/1. The challenge of malaria control/2. Progress to date in PMI Round 1 countries: Angola, Tanzania, and Uganda/3. Progress to date in PMI Round 2 countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Senegal./4. Benin/5. Ethiopia: Oromia Region/6. Ghana/7. Kenya ./8. Liberia/9. Madagascar/10. Mali/11. Zambia/12. Supporting Interventions at the Community Level/13. Progress Through Partnerships/14. Building Health Systems and National Capacity/Appendix 1. Baseline and interim coverage of malaria interventions in PMI focus countries/Appendix 2. PMI country-level targets/Appendix 3. Summary of results by intervention \ue2\u20ac\u201c Acknowledgments.Prevention and ControlInfectious Diseas

Combating substance abuse with the potential of geographic information system combining multivariate analysis

Substance abuse problems have been a growing concern for people from all over the world. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the usefulness of a combination between a geographic information system and a multivariate analysis in substance abuse research. However, due to the limited studies on a combination of both these methods in the substance abuse field, we review some other studies in various fields indicating the potential of this method in future substance abuse studies. As the expertise of GIS lies in spatial analysis and the multivariate analysis lies in analyzing huge data thus being capable of interpreting the results very well, we hope this method will attract researchers to applying it in their studies and can consequently and indirectly help in combating substance abuse problems.Keywords: substance abuse; geographic information system; multivariate analysis;  spatial analysis; comba

Evaluation of the implementation of single screening and treatment for the control of malaria in pregnancy in Eastern Indonesia: a systems effectiveness analysis.

BACKGROUND: Indonesia introduced single screening and treatment (SST) of pregnant women for the control of malaria in pregnancy in 2012. Under this policy pregnant women are screened for malaria at their first antenatal clinic (ANC) visit and on subsequent visits are tested for malaria only if symptomatic. The implementation of this policy in two districts of Indonesia was evaluated. Cross sectional survey structured observations of the ANC visit and exit interviews with pregnant women were conducted to assess health provider compliance with SST guidelines. Systems effectiveness analysis was performed on components of the strategy. Multiple logistic regression was used to test for predictors of women being screened at their first ANC visit. RESULTS: A total of 865 and 895 ANC visits in Mimika and West Sumba across seven and ten health facilities (plus managed health posts) respectively, were included in the study. Adherence to malaria screening at first ANC visit among pregnant women was 51.4% (95% CI 11.9, 89.2) in health facilities in Mimika (94.8% in health centres) and 24.8% (95% CI 10.3, 48.9) in West Sumba (60.0% in health centres). Reported fever was low amongst women presenting for their second and above ANC visit (2.8% in Mimika and 3.5% in West Sumba) with 89.5% and 46.2% of these women tested for malaria in Mimka and West Sumba, respectively. Cumulative systems effectiveness for SST on first visit to ANC was 7.6% for Mimika and 0.1% for West Sumba; and for second or above visits to ANC was 0.7% in Mimika and 0% in West Sumba. Being screened on a 1st visit to ANC was associated with level of health facility in both sites. CONCLUSION: Cumulative systems effectiveness of the SST strategy was poor in both sites. Both elements of the SST strategy, screening on first visit and passive case detection on second and above visits, was driven by the difference in implementation of malaria testing in health centres and health posts, and by low malaria transmission levels and reported fever

Evaluation of the national policy of single screening and treatment for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy in two districts in Eastern Indonesia: health provider perceptions.

BACKGROUND: Malaria in pregnancy has devastating consequences for both the expectant mother and baby. Annually, 88.2 (70%) of the 125.2 million pregnancies in malaria endemic regions occur in the Asia-Pacific region. The control of malaria in pregnancy in most of Asia relies on passive case detection and prevention with long-lasting insecticide-treated nets. Indonesia was the first country in the region to introduce, in 2012, malaria screening at pregnant women's first antenatal care visit to reduce the burden of malaria in pregnancy. The study assessed health providers' acceptability and perceptions on the feasibility of implementing the single screening and treatment (SST) strategy in the context of the national programme in two endemic provinces of Indonesia. METHODS: Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with 86 health providers working in provision of antenatal care (midwives, doctors, laboratory staff, pharmacists, and heads of drug stores), heads of health facilities and District Health Office staff in West Sumba and Mimika districts in East Nusa Tenggara and Papua provinces, respectively. RESULTS: Health providers of all cadres were accepting of SST as a preventive strategy, showing a strong preference for microscopy over rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) as the method of screening. Implementation of the policy was inconsistent in both sites, with least extensive implementation reported in West Sumba compared to Mimika. SST was predominantly implemented at health centre level using microscopy, whereas implementation at community health posts was said to occur in less than half the selected health facilities. Lack of availability of RDTs was cited as the major factor that prevented provision of SST at health posts, however as village midwives cannot prescribe medicines women who test positive are referred to health centres for anti-malarials. Few midwives had received formal training on SST or related topics. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings indicate that SST was an acceptable strategy among health providers, however implementation was inconsistent with variation across different localities within the same district, across levels of facility, and across different cadres within the same health facility. Implementation should be re-invigorated through reorientation and training of health providers, stable supplies of more sensitive RDTs, and improved data capture and reporting

Evaluation of the national policy of single screening and treatment for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy in two districts in Eastern Indonesia: health provider perceptions

Background Malaria in pregnancy has devastating consequences for both the expectant mother and baby. Annually, 88.2 (70%) of the 125.2 million pregnancies in malaria endemic regions occur in the Asia–Pacific region. The control of malaria in pregnancy in most of Asia relies on passive case detection and prevention with long-lasting insecticide-treated nets. Indonesia was the first country in the region to introduce, in 2012, malaria screening at pregnant women’s first antenatal care visit to reduce the burden of malaria in pregnancy. The study assessed health providers’ acceptability and perceptions on the feasibility of implementing the single screening and treatment (SST) strategy in the context of the national programme in two endemic provinces of Indonesia. Methods Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with 86 health providers working in provision of antenatal care (midwives, doctors, laboratory staff, pharmacists, and heads of drug stores), heads of health facilities and District Health Office staff in West Sumba and Mimika districts in East Nusa Tenggara and Papua provinces, respectively. Results Health providers of all cadres were accepting of SST as a preventive strategy, showing a strong preference for microscopy over rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) as the method of screening. Implementation of the policy was inconsistent in both sites, with least extensive implementation reported in West Sumba compared to Mimika. SST was predominantly implemented at health centre level using microscopy, whereas implementation at community health posts was said to occur in less than half the selected health facilities. Lack of availability of RDTs was cited as the major factor that prevented provision of SST at health posts, however as village midwives cannot prescribe medicines women who test positive are referred to health centres for anti-malarials. Few midwives had received formal training on SST or related topics. Conclusions The study findings indicate that SST was an acceptable strategy among health providers, however implementation was inconsistent with variation across different localities within the same district, across levels of facility, and across different cadres within the same health facility. Implementation should be re-invigorated through reorientation and training of health providers, stable supplies of more sensitive RDTs, and improved data capture and reporting

Community-Based Approaches to Health: How Engaging Local Community Members Can Transform the Health of Hard-to-Reach Populations

From rural villages in Malawi to crowded urban slums in Bangladesh, community-based health organizations are delivering interventions to underserved communities around the world. Though they may work in different parts of the world, the most successful organizations share the same core approaches: building turst with local leaders and gradually dismantling the geographic, economic, cultural, and behavioral barriers to health delivery. Explore evidence-based solutions and nonprofit models that are working around the world in Community-Based Approaches to Health: How Engaging Local Community Members Can Transform the Health of Hard-to-Reach Population

The nature and extent of faith-based involvement in African pharmaceutical systems

Within the context of health system strengthening and pharmaceutical systems development goals, a population must have equitable access to quality affordable medicines and pharmaceutical supplies. The utilization of the private (for-profit and not-for-profit) pharmaceutical sector actors by the public to promote universal access to quality medicines and related commodities is an increasingly common practice in resource poor settings. Faith-based drug supply organizations (FB-DSOs), as a component of the private-not-for-profit (PNFP) sector, are increasingly involved in the supply of pharmaceuticals to complement public sector efforts in wider coverage of communities in Africa. However, their role in the pharmaceutical system in Africa is not well defined. This paper presents the results of a systematic review conducted to map out the organization of pharmaceutical systems and establish the role of faith-based health care providers in the pharmaceutical supply chain in Africa. For this study, a scoping review was first conducted to map the literature on pharmaceutical supply chains in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), understand the challenges facing pharmaceutical supply chainsin LMICs and the role faith-based health care providers play in the pharmaceutical supply chain. After this, a qualitative systematic review was conducted across multiple electronic databases to identify documents that contain information on faith-based involvement in pharmaceutical supply chain in Africa. Citation tracking was used to identify further relevant articles. Included materials were analyzed using thematic narrative analysis and synthesized. The public pharmaceutical supply chain in Africa is faced with challenges including drug stock outs and irregular supplies, shortage of trained pharmacy personnel and lack of system for drug regulation and quality assurance. Faith-based health care providers involved in pharmaceutical supply chain do exist extensively as drug supply organizations or as a Christian Health Association with a pharmaceutical supply chain. They have been in existence in Africa for a very long time now contributing to the national pharmaceutical system in Africa. The review revealed that faith-based involvement in pharmaceutical chains tended to improve access to the general population and inserted additional pharmaceutical supplies into the national pharmaceutical system - which tended to strengthen the broader public private partnership between faith-based health providers and the public sector. This analysis confirmed that African pharmaceutical supply systems continue to face challenges. There is a major evidence gap relating to PNFP contribution to pharmaceutical systems - as is evidenced by this study on faith-based contributions to African pharmaceutical systems (which can be understood as a tracer for a broader concern). There is a particular lack of evidence about the national supply chain, and how faith-based PNFP engagement contribute or detract from the national pharmaceuticalsupply chain. FB-DSOs complement the public pharmaceutical system by improving access to medicines and related commodities in Africa