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“E-Health in Developing Countries with a Special Focus on Nigeria”
Abstract/ Summary :
Please provide some background about the project, topic, company, situation and overall summary as to the nature of problem and what is required (approx 1500 words)
The burden of illness is increasing worldwide, and developing and transitional countries continue to carry the heaviest burden. Although therapeutics and treatments are available for many chronic diseases that increase the risk of mortality and impact quality of life, many of these countries lack access to proper healthcare. There are many factors that affect the ability of developing and transitional countries to meet the healthcare needs of their people, including political, administrative, socio-economic, environmental, and geographical barriers. To try to address some of these problems, policy makers have proposed a number of solutions, some of which are centred round newly available technologies.
Many healthcare policy makers, administrators and providers are turning their attention towards two technological applications that show much promise in promoting universal delivery of quality healthcare: e-health and m-health. E-Health uses information and communication technology to manage healthcare, while m-health uses mobile technology. The main attractions of these technologies are their accessibility, affordability, implementability, and universal application.
The World Health Organization, the United States of America, and the European Union, are strong promoters of e-health and m-health, and have developed programes to help underfunded countries incorporate these technologies into their health care systems. Nevertheless, few countries have been taking advantage of their offers, and those who do, do so on a sporadic or limited scale.
The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate some of the e-health applications that have already been proven, or may prove, of value in the delivery of health care in developing countries, and to identify the barriers that are preventing more widespread application of the technology. The secondary purpose of this study is to attempt to find solutions to any of the problems identified.
Objectives
List overall objectives of the project. These should be measurable and will be used in part assessment in determining the level of achievement of the project. These should reflect the Learning outcomes of the Module.
(Can be a breakdown of what you are trying to achieve and can be representative of activities/ phases that are to be conducted in arriving at the project deliverables)
Phase 1: Conduct a literature search to identify the most serious health problems affecting developing and transitional countries with the highest mortality rates and burden of disease. During this phase, the most vulnerable populations will also be identified. Data will be presented in tables or graphs.
Phase 2: Conduct a literature search of the most successful proven ICT applications in the healthcare sector that may have applications in developing and transitional countries. The focus will be on ICT applications that target the health problems identified during Phase 1. Data will be presented in tables and/or graphs.
Phase 3: Identify a specific country that has developed an e-health program that uses a certain application to target a health problem associated with a high burden of illness. The application should have potential universal application in developing and transitional countries.
Phase 4: Evaluate the success of the program
1. If successful, evaluate its usefulness and feasibility in developing and transitional countries, with special focus on west African countries, particularly Nigeria
a. If useful and feasible, determine why this program has not been implemented/widely implemented in developing and transitional countries with special focus on west African countries, particularly Nigeria
b. Propose a solution
2. If not successful, evaluate the reason for failure
a. Propose a solution
Phase 5: Identify another country that has developed an e-health program that uses a certain application to target another one of these health problems
Phase 6: Repeat “Phase 4” above
Project Outcomes :
Provide a list of key outcomes of the conducted project (can be deliverables/outputs for each of the above objectives/ stages and these can be studies, reports, requirements, plans, recommendations etc )
This study will identify e-health applications that have been used with success to address specific illnesses or diseases that place a high burden of illness and/or increase the risk of mortality in developing countries. This study will focus on west African countries, and on Nigeria in particular.
This study will also analyze factors that have been preventing wider application of this technology. Finally, it will determine how these factors could be addressed to clear the way for the establishment of successful e-health programmes, with special focus on Nigeria.
Why are you interested in the project ?
Provide a reason for your interest, what greater general interest it serves (In Industry or as part of Research) and who it could benefit (the target audience(s) that this project would be beneficial to)
In 2010, 7.6 million children under the age of five died, and 11% of these deaths occurred in Nigeria (WHO). That means that every day Nigeria loses over 200 children under the age of five to illness or disease. More than half of these deaths were from infectious diseases, and many could have prevented. Mortality was higher in rural areas and among poorer and less educated communities that lacked access to healthcare. A single mobile phone could have saved many of these lives.
A comprehensive e-health programme should be instituted in these communities to reduce mortality rates in vulnerable populations like the poor in general, and children and the elderly in particular.
What are the key questions the project attempts to answer?
These should be testable in some way. These should be the key focal points that the project is trying to determine. (Challenging views, practises, models, behaviour, adoption etc on areas such as : the nature of .., impact of , the practicality of.., a hypothesis of , inferences questioned, assumptions deliberated and tested, questions of comparisons and contrasts .,etc-)
What e-health programmes have been successfully instituted in developing countries that could be implemented across west Africa, especially in Nigeria?
What e-health programmes have been successfully instituted in developing countries that could be adapted for use in west Africa, especially in Nigeria?
What factors are preventing developing countries from establishing e-health programmes that could save the lives of vulnerable populations?
What factors are preventing Nigeria from establishing e-health programmes that could save the lives of vulnerable populations?
What research methods do you intend to use?
(Discuss the nature of investigation considering the multitude of academic and Industry methods, with thoughts on qualitative and quantitative methods, and primary and secondary methods)
Research methods will consist of online search of the literature, and personal e-interviews and/or e-surveys of physicians.
What primary and/or secondary data sources do you intend to use?
(for each of the above identified methods discuss the pool of sources of authentic and credible information giving examples, e.g. consider target audiences such as profiles of general public, company representatives, people with specialist knowledge and in specific positions, type and title of books, journals etc)
Data will be collected from evidence-based medicine databases including NIH-PubMed, Medscape, The Cochrane Library, MedPage, EBM Guidelines, HEED, Essential Evidence Plus, and WHO.
A survey will be created for e-data collection from primary care physicians and/or medical clinics in Nigeria.
Please provide draft chapter headings for your report
Chapter 1. Research Methodology
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Scope of the research
1.3 Aim of the study
1.4 Objectives
1.5 Research questions
1.6 Hypothesis
1.7 Limitations
Chapter 2. Global Health Risks
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Global Mortality and Burden of Disease
2.3 Populations with the highest burden of illness
2.4 Healthcare systems in developing countries
2.5 Factors affecting delivery of quality healthcare in developing countries
Chapter 3. Role of information communication systems in healthcare
3.1 Introduction
3.2 ICT Applications in the Healthcare Sector
3.3 E-health in Developing and Transitional Countries
3.4 Factor Affecting Successful Implementation of E-health Programmes
3.5 Emerging trends
Chapter 4. E-health Programmes in Nigeria
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Current ICT Applications in Healthcare in Nigeria
4.3 Factor Affecting Successful Implementation of E-health Programmes in Nigeria
4.4 Recommendations
Chapter 5
Discussion of results
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