‘When appropriately designed and implemented, community health worker (CHW) programs can increase the use of contraception, particularly where unmet need is high, access is low, and geographic or social barriers to use of services exist. The updated HIP brief, Community Health Workers: Bringing family planning services to where people live and work, describes the importance of community-based family planning programs as a means of reducing inequities in access to services and outlines key issues for planning and implementation.’

http://bit.ly/1PrRTbV

On page 7 there is a table on ‘Planning, Implementing, and Scaling-Up CHW Programs’, which looks at Factors Contributing to Success or Failure against a range of program approaches. factors contributing to success include (inter alia):

– Broad range of services and commodities that reflect the preferences of the communities served.

– Paid workers perform better than volunteers. Completely voluntary schemes do not work well. If workers are not paid, some other motivational scheme is required, and the scope of work for unpaid volunteers should be realistic.

– CHWs trained and engaged in social and behavior change communication activities.

– Supportive, rather than directive, CHW supervision.

– CHWs linked to and have ongoing relationship with facility-based services.

I look forward to hear from HIFA members about your experience and observations. We are especially keen to hear from CHWs and CHW trainers.

Best wishes, Neil

Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org

If you are searching for evidence on a particular topic, TRIP database ­ (Turning Research Into Practice) may be useful to you. Many full text articles available on the free version.  Check it out on:

https://www.tripdatabase.com/

‘Internationally, over the past decade in particular, an industry seems to have developed around CPG development, reporting, adoption, contextualization or adaptation, evaluation and implementation. The growing volume of evidence and the acronyms used in this field can be overwhelming, even for those involved.’

The paper below aims to ‘provide a guide describing common standards, methods and systems used in current international CPG activities and the various activities to produce and communicate them’. I have invited the authors to join us so that we can learn from their experience and expertise.

CITATION: Int J Qual Health Care. 2016 Jan 20. pii: mzv115

Guide to Clinical Practice Guidelines: The Current State of Play.

Kredo T, Bernhardsson S, Machingaidze S, Young T, Louw Q, Ochodo E, Grimmer K.

Full text: http://intqhc.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/01/20/intqhc.mzv115.long

Author contact: tamara.kredo@mrc.ac.za

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Extensive research has been undertaken over the last 30 years on the methods underpinning clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), including their development, updating, reporting, tailoring for specific purposes, implementation and evaluation. This has resulted in an increasing number of terms, tools and acronyms. Over time, CPGs have shifted from opinion-based to evidence-informed, including increasingly sophisticated methodologies and implementation strategies, and thus keeping abreast of evolution in this field of research can be challenging.

METHODS: This article collates findings from an extensive document search, to provide a guide describing standards, methods and systems reported in the current CPG methodology and implementation literature. This guide is targeted at those working in health care quality and safety and responsible for either commissioning, researching or delivering health care. It is presented in a way that can be updated as the field expands.

CONCLUSION: CPG development and implementation have attracted the most international interest and activity, whilst CPG updating, adopting (with or without contextualization), adapting and impact evaluation are less well addressed.

—

Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org

The ‘Revised WHO classification and treatment of childhood pneumonia at health facilities 2014’ http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/documents/respiratory/en/

Please find below the link to an article in which we describe how mobile and social media can be used to support, manage and educate health workers in LMIC. In particular the section “Practical considerations” where we outline how social mobile media can be anchored in institutional settings may be of interest.

Here is the download link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284545650_The_convergence_of_mobile_and_social_media_Affordances_and_constraints_of_mobile_networked_communication_for_health_workers_in_low-and_middle-income_countries

Best, Christoph

University of Applied Sciences and Arts

Northwestern Switzerland FHNW

School of Business

Institute for Information Systems

A Better Way to Understand Health and the Human Body – free resource

Global Health Sim is a movement of people committed to developing free open access resources for global health learning.  Resources focus on peace, global health, ethics, and humanitarianism.  Global health issues, both locally and internationally, are some of the most complex concerns facing society. Through engaging role-playing simulations in-person and online, we work to help students and practitioners better understand these complexities.

KEY DOMAINS

• Peace through Health
• Disaster and Complex Emergency Interventions
• Local Public Health
• Healthcare Response to Emergencies
• Global Health Governance, Actors, and Institutions
• Global Health Ethics
• Other Domains in Global Health

SUPPORT

Global Health Sim was made possible through a grant from the Canadian Physicians for Research and Education in Peace.  To find out more about their work please see:cprep.ca.

Please see a comment from The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology on public health data availability. 

It may be of interest.

Summary: ‘The world is facing a rapidly worsening epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Unchecked, NCDs will have untold health, social, and economic consequences for individuals and societies, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) with weak health systems that are ill prepared to manage the swift epidemiological transition that brought the large and increasing burden of NCDs.’]Best wishes

The full text is freely available here: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(16)00037-1/fulltext

Dr Justine Davies MD MRCP MBChB

Editor in Chief, The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology

CITATION: Int Nurs Rev. 2016 Jan 18. doi: 10.1111/inr.12231.

Clinical nursing and midwifery research: grey literature in African countries.

Sun C, Dohrn J, Omoni G, Malata A, Klopper H, Larson E.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/inr.12231/full [restricted access]’

I have now been able to access the full text of the above paper. For me, the most interesting point (not mentioned in the abstract) is that the authors had just published a closely related and complementary article, with a focus on the indexed, peer-reviewed literature.

The citation and abstract of this second article is reproduced below. Again, unfortunately the full text is restricted-access.

CITATION: Clinical nursing and midwifery research in African countries: A scoping review

Carolyn Sun, Elaine Larson

http://www.journalofnursingstudies.com/article/S0020-7489(15)00030-9/abstract

ABSTRACT

Background: Globally, the nursing shortage has been deemed a crisis, but African countries have been hit hardest. Therefore, it is of utmost importance nurses use the best available evidence and that nursing research is targeted to address gaps in the evidence. To achieve this, an understanding of what is currently available and identification of gaps in clinical nursing research is critical.

Objectives: We performed a scoping review of existing literature to assess clinical nursing research conducted in all African countries over the past decade, identify gaps in clinical nursing and midwifery research, determine whether they match with health priorities for countries, and define priorities for regional clinical nursing research agendas to improve health outcomes.

Design: This is a scoping review of published clinical nursing research conducted in African countries.

Data sources: Systematic searches of literature published between January 01, 2004 and September 15, 2014 were performed in PubMed, Medline, CINHAL, and Embase.

Review methods: Research was included if it was conducted by nurses, included data obtained in African countries or regions within the African continent, published in a peer-reviewed journal with an abstract, and included patient outcomes. Abstracts were independently reviewed for inclusion by two authors. The following data were extracted: countries of publication and study, study type and design, journal, language, and topics of research. Gaps in the literature were identified.

Results: Initially, 1091 papers were identified with a final sample of 73 articles meeting inclusion criteria. Studies used 12 designs, were published in 35 journals published in five countries (including two African countries); 29% of the research was published in a single journal (Curatonis). Research was mostly qualitative (57%) and included twenty countries in Africa (38%). There were 12 major topics of study, most often midwifery/maternal/child health (43%), patient experiences (38%), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (36%).

Conclusions: Areas most often studied were associated with funding sources (e.g., a large influx of funds for HIV-related research). Major and common health care problems in African countries (e.g. infectious disease other than HIV, and noncommunicable diseases such as malnutrition, diarrheal disease, hypertension and diabetes) were not subjects of the published literature, indicating a clear gap between health care needs and problems and the focus of the majority of clinical nursing research. Additionally, the shortage of doctorally prepared nurses may contribute to the lack of clinical nursing and midwifery research in African countries.

—

Best wishes, Neil

Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org

Kesetebirhan Admasuemail, Taye Balcha, Haileyesus Getahun

Model villages: a platform for community-based primary health care

The Lancet Global Health

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(15)00301-0

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(15)00301-0/fulltext?elsca1=etoc&elsca2=email&elsca3=2214-109X_201602_4_2_&elsca4=Epidemiology%7CPublic%20Health%7CHealth%20Policy%7CLancet

Contact: moh@ethionet.et

Extract: ‘Model households refer to families that have embraced locally tailored health behaviour criteria (eg, having children vaccinated, constructing and using latrines, and sleeping under mosquito nets). There is a critical mass of nearly 3 million model households that have graduated over the years. Building on this concept, participatory engagement of women’s groups to disseminate health information and facilitate uptake of critical health services was initiated in 2012. This movement, commonly referred to as the health development army (HDA), is led by a group of women volunteers who are from model households and complement the work of HEWs and further augment the engagement and leadership of community members in their own health.’

—

Best wishes, Neil

Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org  

“In Africa there are so few people trained in research methods.  Without skills in research methods and training, one cannot publish in top journals. What then can be done to change this?”

Professor Ron LaPorte, Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology and co-founder of the Supercourse of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh WHO collaborating Center.

In answer to the challenge posed in the quote by Professor LaPorte, in collaboration with the team at the Library of Alexandria, we have developed a completely free (open access) research methods library that is one of the largest in the world where faculty and students can go to have their research methods answers answered, and we encourage researchers, faculties and students across Africa to be part of the new Africa Rising in research.

Let me share this abstract by some of my colleagues on the work we are doing at in an article presented to the Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa (SASA) 3rd International Annual Conference, which held in Toronto, Canada in August 29015, with the title : “Research Methods Library of Alexandria to Boost Scientific Productivity in Africa”.   It was led by Ronald LaPorte, Ph.D, (University of Pittsburgh) with Ismail Serageldin, Ph.D., (Library of Alexandria), Musa Kana, M.D. , Eugene Schubnikov, M.D., and Faina Linkov, Ph.D. as co-authors . The abstract read:

“During the past decade there has been a threefold marked acceleration of research in Africa.  Despite this increase, still only 2.5% of the world’s literature is published from Africa. We want to markedly increase this. Often, when people see this fact, they argue that more international and national money should be spent. However, it is unlikely in the near future that there will be a marked increase in funding for science.

We have taken a different, potentially very effective, but frugal approach. For 76% of the articles that are rejected, the reason is due to poor research methods. In Africa, there are brilliant young investigators with outstanding research ideas, yet they have problems publishing. The reason for the difficulty is what we call “stataphobia”, which is the fear of statistics and not having access to help. In Africa, in many countries, there are few people trained in research methods. It does not matter how bright a young person is, they cannot publish without a knowledge of statistics.

We therefore have built the “Research Methods Library of Alexandria (RMLA)”.

http://ssc.bibalex.org/helpdesk/introduction.jsf

This is a one-stop shopping center for answers to research methods. We have over 2,000 research and YouTube presentations, an “ask a research librarian”, numerous courses, free statistics books and software, scientific apps, and a survey portal. It is the largest library of research methods yet created. Everyone can use it for free.

We have just built a network of users. We have identified over 10,000 faculty members in medical schools in Africa and provided information about the program. Over 200 universities have put a “RMLA Button” on their site so that if one has a question about research methods, they click on the button and are whisked to the RMLA to find answers. We are also planning a top quality scientific journal that is peer reviewed, in the English Language, and of open access. It will also be one of the first “mentored” journals where the editors help authors with good ideas and data.

We are starting with health research, but will shortly expand to agriculture, climate, and computer engineering.”

Research Methods Library of Alexandria to Boost Scientific Productivity in Africa. Available from:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280884374_Research_Methods_Library_of_Alexandria_to_Boost_Scientific_Productivity_in_Africa  

Do you want to become a champion for strengthening scientific research publication in Africa and also become a foundation member of the RMLA ? Or do you desire more   information for yourself or your institution?, It is simple. Just write to us and we will have you participate.

There are two requests that we ask in the beginning:

Go and examine the RMLA.  http://ssc.bibalex.org/helpdesk/introduction.jsf

Distribute this information to all students and faculty you can reach, as we believe that not only researchers should know a little about research methods, but all students in higher education in Africa should have some grounding in at least basic research. For example in the US most people think that in Africa people are more likely to be killed by a lion than walking across the street!!

The 3 component which is not required at this point, is if for you and your University or Academic or Training Institution become a regional member of the RMLA.  

This is free, and we ask that you put a Library of Alexandria link/button on your site

WE have given about 7-10 research methods training courses throughout the world which really benefit students.  If we can establish a joint virtual program with the approaches above, we could discuss a regional program.

My colleague Dr Musa Kana and I would be presenting the RMLA at a special panel at this year’s Biovision 2016 Conference in Egypt coming April. BioVision Alexandria , as it is referred to , is an important gathering that brings together distinguished speakers and Nobel Laureates from the four corners of the globe through rich discussions that commemorate science and the finest achievements of the human intellect. We would also be giving a course on research methods at The Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa (SASA) meetings in Nairobi, August 2016.   

You are welcome to be part of the Africa RMLA today.

Contact emails:

Africaglobalhealth@gmail.com ,  Ronaldlaporte@gmail.com

——

Dr. Francis O.Ohanyido

This review concluded that ‘the most effective interventions were those that involve male partner involvement in the decision to initiate contraceptive use… Our findings suggest that when information and contraceptives are provided, contraceptive use improves.’

Below is the citation, abstract and selected extracts. The full text is freely available here: http://www.reproductive-health-journal.com/content/12/1/100#

CITATION: Mwelwa Phiri, R. King, J. N. Newell. Behaviour change techniques and contraceptive use in low and middle income countries: a review

Reproductive Health 2015, 12:100  doi:10.1186/s12978-015-0091-y

Corresponding author: Mwelwa Phiri muleba@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

‘We aimed to identify effective behaviour change techniques to increase modern contraceptive use in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Literature was identified in Global Health, Web of Science, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Popline, as well as peer reviewed journals. Articles were included if they were written in English, had an outcome evaluation of contraceptive use, modern contraceptive use, contraceptive initiation/uptake, contraceptive adherence or continuation of contraception, were a systematic review or randomised controlled trial, and were conducted in a low or middle income country. We assessed the behaviour change techniques used in each intervention and included a new category of male partner involvement. We identified six studies meeting the inclusion criteria. The most effective interventions were those that involve male partner involvement in the decision to initiate contraceptive use. The findings also suggest that providing access to contraceptives in the community promotes their use. The interventions that had positive effects on contraceptive use used a combination of behaviour change techniques. Performance techniques were not used in any of the interventions. The use of social support techniques, which are meant to improve wider social acceptability, did not appear except in two of the interventions. Our findings suggest that when information and contraceptives are provided, contraceptive use improves. Recommendations include reporting of behaviour change studies to include more details of the intervention and techniques employed. There is also a need for further research to understand which techniques are especially effective.’

EXTRACTS (selected by Neil PW)

‘Information techniques were used in all the interventions and included providing information on the available methods, importance and advantages of methods, ill effects of large families, misconceptions about methods and explanations of methods, including side effects and efficacy [11]–[16]. This information was mostly provided orally and face-to-face. Two interventions used a video to provide information with one adding a description of the methods on the patient consent form. One intervention also used drama, role playing and music to provide information. Peers, authority figures such as healthcare professionals, and community health workers (CHWs) provided this information.’

‘Media techniques consisted of using short videos to provide information, illustrating scenarios using drama and role plays, music and print media such as flip charts, leaflets, booklets and posters. Print media was provided as a supplement to the oral information in two of the interventions. None of the interventions used mass media. One intervention also contained a brief description of the methods on the patient consent form. Media techniques were used by three of the six interventions.’

Best wishes, Neil

Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org  

There seems to be an increasing trend to focus systematic reviews on more and more specific questions, as illustrated by this review of features and content quality of mobile apps for bipolar disorder’.

Below is the citation and abstract. The authors identified 571 apps and concluded: ‘In general, the content of currently available apps for BD is not in line with practice guidelines or established self-management principles.’ The review looked only for English-language apps and did not say anything about the applicability of the apps for different contexts such as low-resource environments and users with low literacy.

I am left feeling concerned that this is part of a larger explosion in poor-quality health apps which could have important adverse consequences on public and individual health. Many if not most of these apps are likely to be commercially driven. It is vital that funders and governments support efforts by international health agencies and rigourous content providers to produce high-quality content that truly meets the health needs of populations, especially in low and middle income countries.

CITATION: Nicholas J, Larsen ME, Proudfoot J, Christensen H. Mobile Apps for Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review of Features and Content Quality. J Med Internet Res 2015;17(8):e198  DOI: 10.2196/jmir.4581

ABSTRACT

Background: With continued increases in smartphone ownership, researchers and clinicians are investigating the use of this technology to enhance the management of chronic illnesses such as bipolar disorder (BD). Smartphones can be used to deliver interventions and psychoeducation, supplement treatment, and enhance therapeutic reach in BD, as apps are cost-effective, accessible, anonymous, and convenient. While the evidence-based development of BD apps is in its infancy, there has been an explosion of publicly available apps. However, the opportunity for mHealth to assist in the self-management of BD is only feasible if apps are of appropriate quality.

Objective: Our aim was to identify the types of apps currently available for BD in the Google Play and iOS stores and to assess their features and the quality of their content.

Methods: A systematic review framework was applied to the search, screening, and assessment of apps. We searched the Australian Google Play and iOS stores for English-language apps developed for people with BD. The comprehensiveness and quality of information was assessed against core psychoeducation principles and current BD treatment guidelines. Management tools were evaluated with reference to the best-practice resources for the specific area. General app features, and privacy and security were also assessed.

Results: Of the 571 apps identified, 82 were included in the review. Of these, 32 apps provided information and the remaining 50 were management tools including screening and assessment (n=10), symptom monitoring (n=35), community support (n=4), and treatment (n=1). Not even a quarter of apps (18/82, 22%) addressed privacy and security by providing a privacy policy. Overall, apps providing information covered a third (4/11, 36%) of the core psychoeducation principles and even fewer (2/13, 15%) best-practice guidelines. Only a third (10/32, 31%) cited their information source. Neither comprehensiveness of psychoeducation information (r=-.11, P=.80) nor adherence to best-practice guidelines (r=-.02, P=.96) were significantly correlated with average user ratings. Symptom monitoring apps generally failed to monitor critical information such as medication (20/35, 57%) and sleep (18/35, 51%), and the majority of self-assessment apps did not use validated screening measures (6/10, 60%).

Conclusions: In general, the content of currently available apps for BD is not in line with practice guidelines or established self-management principles. Apps also fail to provide important information to help users assess their quality, with most lacking source citation and a privacy policy. Therefore, both consumers and clinicians should exercise caution with app selection. While mHealth offers great opportunities for the development of quality evidence-based mobile interventions, new frameworks for mobile mental health research are needed to ensure the timely availability of evidence-based apps to the public.

—

Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org

The reliability of information contained on health apps for mobile phones is of increasing concern. Below is a news item from PIF that shows action in Europe. I would be interested to learn what action is being taken in other regions, and whether/how WHO arnd other international agencies are being given the support they need to help coordinate this process globally.

—

‘The European Commission announced earlier this month that it has has set up a working group to develop guidelines for assessing the validity and reliability of the data that health apps collect and process.

Based on their expertise, 20 members representing civil society, research and industry organisations were selected to participate in the working group. The guidelines are expected to be published by the end of this year.

The development of the guidelines is one of the follow-up activities to the Commission’s Green Paper on mobile health (April 2014).  A public consultation on the Green Paper was carried out in 2014 and collected stakeholders’ views on how to tackle the challenges to the mHealth market in Europe. The results of the public consultation were published in January 2015.

Safety and transparency of information were identified by the respondents to the consultation as one of the main issues for mHealth uptake. The large number of lifestyle and wellbeing apps available, combined with no clear evidence on their quality and reliability, is raising concerns about the ability of consumers to assess their usefulness. This could limit the effective uptake of mHealth apps to the benefit of public health.

In order to fully benefit from the mobile health apps that people increasingly use to monitor their lifestyle and health status or to manage their chronic disease, it should be possible in the future to link data from these apps to the electronic health records.

This means that patients would be able to give access to their health professionals to consult the data collected by the apps.

Also, health professionals need the reassurance about the reliability of the apps, in order to be able to recommend apps to their patients and take apps’ data into consideration in a treatment/monitoring process.

The guidelines that the new Working Group will develop are expected to build on existing initiatives and best practices in Europe.

The group will seek to provide common quality criteria and assessment methodologies that could help different stakeholders (users, developers, vendors of electronic health record systems, payers etc.) in assessing the validity and reliability of mobile health applications.

Full details of the Working Group and the development of the guidelines can be found on the European Commission website herehttps://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/new-eu-working-group-aims-draft-guidelines-improve-mhealth-apps-data-quality

—

Best wishes, neil

Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org  

You might be interested in this TED talk by Nigerian born Dr. Seyi Oyesola, on improving emergency care provision in Nigeria:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dr_seyi_oyesola_tours_a_hospital_in_nigeria

He highlights African solutions to African problems, including right infrastructure and a focus on solutions (and a little local sacrifice?) as opposed to just problems.

What do you think?

Best wishes

Jo

HIFA profile: Jo Vallis is Research Officer at NHS Education for Scotland (http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/)

Below are extracts from a news item on the BBC website. The paper in The Lancet Infectious Diseases is freely available here:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(15)00536-8/abstract

HIV becoming resistant to key drug, study finds

By Dominic Howell

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35433856

Strains of HIV are becoming resistant to an antiretroviral drug commonly used to prevent and fight the virus, research has suggested.

HIV was resistant to the drug Tenofovir in 60% of selected cases [individuals with treatment failure] in some African countries, according to the study, which covered a 17-year period…

Lead author Dr Ravi Gupta said the results were “extremely concerning”…

The paper, which has been published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, said poor administration of the drug, in terms of regularly taking the right levels of Tenofovir could be explanation for the discrepancy.

“If the right levels of the drug are not taken, as in they are too low or not regularly maintained, the virus can overcome the drug and become resistant,” Dr Gupta told the BBC News website…’

The authors write:

‘Our findings are important in view of the fact that following WHO recommendations, tenofovir is replacing thymidine analogues (zidovudine and stavudine) as part of the NRTI backbone in first-line regimens in resource-limited settings. Every drug in these regimens can be compromised by one aminoacid mutation, and the combination therapy is therefore potentially fragile.’

—

Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org  

WONCA News – February 2016

The latest WONCA News is available via the WONCA website, packed with WONCA news, views and events.

From the WONCA President

“I had travelled to Hanoi, the capital city of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, at the invitation of the Ministry of Health, and the Health Strategy and Policy Institute, to review the work under way to develop the Family Doctor Model across the nation to strengthen primary health care and ensure universal health coverage. Family medicine development is a top priority for the Government of Vietnam and I was asked to advise especially on the lessons that Vietnam could take from experience in family medicine development in other countries with a focus on the education and training of the family medicine workforce…… and on the financial mechanisms needed to ensure high quality, sustainable health care services which will be trusted and utilised by the population”

Read more about Michael Kidd’s fascinating visit to Vietnam, and the reforms taking place.

From the CEO’s Desk

In his column this month Garth Manning outlines details of the forthcoming WONCA Council meeting.  He also highlights the several WONCA awards available, and gives diary dates for key WONCA events throughout 2016.

WHO Call for Contributions to Survey – short notice

An important announcement from WHO. As a joint project between the Patient, Family and Community Engagement initiative and the Universal Health Coverage and Quality Unit of the WHO Service Delivery and Safety department, WHO is conducting a short survey on people’s opinions and perspectives of what universal health coverage means to them.  You can help WHO to better understand people’s needs and values about UHC. Your contribution, by completing this short survey of four questions, will offer new insights into how health systems can be more responsive, accessible and of high-quality in your context.

The deadline for submissions is 15th February.  Further details of the survey and how to complete it are at the WONCA website.

WONCA Europe – Early Bird deadline approaching!

The organizers of the WONCA Europe conference in Copenhagen (15th to 18th June) have reminded us that the deadline for Early Bird registration is 15th February.  

The conference promises to be interesting and dynamic.  The keynote speaker is Professor Martin Marshall of UK, who will be talking on making health care affordable in a future Europe. Can we provide high quality primary care and still have a cost-effective system under increasing economic restraints?  What, in fact, is the core output of general practice in an integrated healthcare system? 

We are not experts but we have read some of the publications and fact sheets on Zika and we have identified what we think are the most important 10 messages on Zika for children to learn and share. We tried to express the messages in a simple way. Can you let us know what you think?

Zika

10 messages for children aged 10-14 to learn and share

1.         Zika is a disease caused by a virus. It passes from one person to another by the bite of a mosquito called the “Aedes Mosquito.”

2.         The Aedes Mosquito bites in the morning and the late afternoon, so people have to be careful all day.

3.         There are people infected with the Zika virus disease in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific and it is spreading.

4.         In 2016, there has been a large increase of the numbers of people with Zika. Most of these live in South America.

5.         People with the Zika virus disease usually have a mild fever, a rash and red itchy sore eyes, and this can last for 2-7 days.

6.         At the moment there is no medicine or vaccine to prevent or treat Zika. (February 2016)

7.         Prevent mosquitoes biting by using insect repellent; wearing light coloured clothes to cover the body; using insect screens; closing doors and windows; and sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets.

8.         Zika does not kill, but if a pregnant woman catches Zika her baby can be born with a small head and other problems to the body and brain.

9.         Help stop mosquitoes breeding: empty, clean or cover any containers that you see that hold any water,  however small e.g. pots or tyres.

10.       Help prevent mosquitoes biting young children the sick or elderly.

There is probably a case for another 10 messages on supporting families, babies and children who have disabilities that can be linked to this topic and we would be very happy to link with an expert or expert group on this to review  a further 10 messages.

All our messages are aimed at children aged 10-14 and we believe that most of the time the messages would get to the children via parents, older siblings and educators.

Best wishes

Clare

HIFA profile: Clare Hanbury qualified as a teacher in the UK

The new AIDSFree Guidance Database brings together national HIV testing and treatment guidance from many PEPFAR priority countries around the world. Use this interactive database to prepare guideline revisions for a specific country, conduct research and product development, prepare training materials for health care personnel, write proposals and grants, or learn about guidelines from other countries.

Check out the new interactive tool: http://1.usa.gov/1nN67re

—

JSILogo KATIE COOK

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIST

PHONE: 571.302.7514 | WWW.JSI.COM

“Countries really need to get on a war footing against the mosquito”. These are the concluding words of an excellent 4-minute video statement by Dr Anthony Costello, Director of WHO’s Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0skonVosTJU&feature=youtu.be

The video is in English. It needs to be available also with Portuguese and Spanish subtitles.

For further information on Zika virus, see http://who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/en/

Best wishes, Neil

Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org