Perceptions of drones, digital adherence monitoring technologies and educational videos for tuberculosis control in remote Madagascar: A mixed-method study protocol

© 2019 Author(s). Introduction Poor road and communication infrastructure pose major challenges to tuberculosis (TB) control in many regions of the world. TB surveillance and patient support often fall to community health workers (CHWs) who may lack the time or knowledge needed for this work. To meet the End TB Strategy goal of reducing TB incidence by 90% by 2035, the WHO calls for intensified research and innovation including the rapid uptake of new tools, interventions and strategies. Technologies that â € leapfrog\u27 infrastructure challenges and support CHWs in TB control responsibilities have the potential to dramatically change TB outcomes in remote regions. Such technologies may strengthen TB control activities within challenged national tuberculosis treatment and control programmes (NTPs), and be adapted to address other public health challenges. The deployment of innovative technologies needs to be differentially adapted to context-specific factors. The Drone Observed Therapy System (DrOTS) project was launched in Madagascar in 2017 and integrates a bundle of innovative technologies including drones, digital adherence monitoring technology and mobile device-based educational videos to support TB control. Methods and analysis This mixed-methods study gathers and analyses cultural perceptions of the DrOTS project among key stakeholders: patients, community members, CHWs, village chiefs and NTP-DrOTS mobile health teams. Data from questionnaires, semistructured interviews, focus group discussions (FGD) and ethnographic observation gathered from June 2018 to June 2019 are thematically analysed and compared to identify patterns and singularities in how DrOTS stakeholders perceive and interact with DrOTS technologies, its enrolment processes, objectives and team. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval was obtained from the National Bioethics Research Committee of Madagascar and Stony Brook University institutional review board. Study results will be submitted for peer-reviewed publication. In Madagascar, results will be presented in person to Ministry and other Malagasy decision-makers through the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar. Patient and public involvement This study is designed to foreground the voices of patients and potential patients in the DrOTS programme. CHW participants in this study also supported the design of study information sessions and recruitment strategies. One member of the mobile health team provided detailed input on the wording and content of FGD and interview guides. Study findings will be presented via a report in French and Malagasy to CHW, mobile health team and other village-level participants who have email/internet access

Iowa Climate Statement 2021: Strengthening Iowa’s Electric Infrastructure

Climate change is powerfully upon us.1 In the Midwest it has increased the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation, floods, droughts, and extreme heat,2,3,4 all of which create environments that threaten grid reliability and resilience at a time when increasing electrification will make infrastructure performance ever more critical

Iowa Climate Statement 2023: It’s Time to Tap Iowa’s Vast Solar Energy Resources

2023 was another year in which global and regional temperatures broke multiple records, and distant heat-exacerbated wildfires degraded Iowa’s air quality. Scientists continue to find that warming temperatures in the global atmosphere and ocean, caused largely by greenhouse gases from fossil-fuel combustion, are interconnected and are a root cause of increasing regional weather disasters1. In Iowa, new evidence links a warmer Gulf of Mexico to wetter spring planting conditions and a warmer atmosphere to rapid drying that creates flash drought and intensified storm systems.2,3 Iowa has multiple opportunities to help mitigate these climate changes with technologies that will also stimulate the economy and produce high-paying jobs.Copyright 2023, The Author