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Evidence and gap map of studies assessing the effectiveness of interventions for people with disabilities in low‐and middle‐income countries

SARAN, Ashrita
WHITE, Howard
KUPER, Hannah
January 2020

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The aim of this Evidence Gap Map (EGM) is to identify, map and describe existing evidence of effectiveness studies and highlight gaps in evidence base for people with disabilities in LMICs. The map helps identify priority evidence gaps for systematic reviews and impact evaluations. The EGM included impact evaluation and systematic reviews assessing the effect of interventions for people with disabilities and their families/carers. These interventions were categorized across the five components of community‐based rehabilitation matrix; health, education, livelihood, social and empowerment. Included studies were published from 2000 onwards until January 2018. The map includes 166 studies, of which 59 are systematic reviews and 107 impact evaluation

 

Campbell Systematic Reviews, vol.16, no.1, Mar 2020

DOI: 10.1002/cl2.1070

Bridging the gaps between research, policy and practice in low- and middle-income countries : a survey of health care providers

GUINDON, G Emmanuel
et al
May 2010

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This article discusses the results of a survey to examine the gaps that continue to exist between research based evidence and clinical practice. Health care providers in 10 low- and middle-income countries were surveyed about their use of research-based evidence and examined factors that may facilitate or impede such use. The conclusion is that locally conducted or published research plays an important role in changing the professional practice of health care providers surveyed in low- and middle-income countries and increased investments in local research, or at least in locally adapted publications of research-based evidence from other settings, are therefore needed. Although access to the Internet was viewed as a significant factor in whether research-based evidence led to concrete changes in practice, few respondents reported having easy access to the Internet. Therefore, efforts to improve Internet access in clinical settings need to be accelerate

A strategy to enhance the global research effort in maternal and child health : the Mother-Child International Research Network

HAMILTON, Richard
March 2006

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This article presents the mission and objectives of the Mother-Child International Research Network. The network aims to support and bring together researchers and research institutions working in the field of mother and child health in low-income countries, facilitating access to scientific debate and opportunities for collaboration. The network's website www.mother-child.org holds scientific updates, distance-learning activities and weblog facilities and is designed to support health communication and exchange and increase exposure to a wide international audience

What is e-health (5) : a research agenda for eHealth through stakeholder consultation and policy context review

JONES, Ray
et al
November 2005

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This article reports a study that explored the concerns of professional and lay stakeholders regarding future developments of eHealth in the UK and reviewed relevant policy to produce recommendations for eHealth research. It concludes that the scope of eHealth research (grouped under four headings: using, processing, sharing, controlling information) derived empirically from this study corresponds with 'textbook' descriptions of informatics. Stakeholders would like eHealth research to include outcomes such as improved health or quality of life, but such research may be long term while changes in information technology are rapid. Longer-term research questions need to be concerned with human behavior and our use of information, rather than particular technologies A parallel literature review was carried out by others and has been reported elsewhere

Features and uses of high-fidelity medical simulations that lead to effective learning : a BEME systematic review

ISSENBERG, S Barry
et al
January 2005

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Systematic review on the use of simulations in medical education selected 109 studies meeting meeting criteria. High fidelity medical simulations facilitate learning under the right conditions. These include providing feedback, repetitive practice, curriculum integration, range of difficulty level, multiple learning strategies, capture clinical variation, controlled environment, individualised learning, defined outcomes and simulator validity. Does not specifically mention resource-poor contexts

Health information technology in primary health care in developing countries : a literature review

TOMASI, E
FACCHINI, L A
MAIA MDE, F
November 2004

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This study explores the debate and initiatives concerning the use of information technology (IT) in primary health care in developing countries. The literature from 1992-2002 was identified from searches of the MEDLINE, Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Literature Database (LILACS), Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases. For the analysis of advantages, problems and perspectives of IT applications and systems, 52 articles were selected according to their potential contribution to the primary health care processes in non-developed countries. countries. These included: 10 on electronic patient registries (EPR), 22 on process and programmatic action evaluation and management systems (PPAEM) and 20 on clinical decision-support systems (CDS). The main advantages, limitations and perspectives are discussed

Social capital and children's wellbeing : a critical synthesis of the international social capital literature

FERGUSON, Kristin M
October 2004

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This literature review looks at main international studies on social capital and children's and youth's wellbeing, presents a critical analysis of the concept and discusses its relevance as a reliable predictor of positive future outcomes for children and young people. It outlines both family social capital indicators - including family structure, quality of parent-child relations, adult's interest in the child, parent's monitoring of the child and extended family exchange and support - and community social capital indicators - which comprise social support networks, civic engagement in local institutions, trust and safety, degree of religiosity, quality of school and quality of neighbourhood. The article calls for further empirical scrutiny of social capital predictors, while accepting that the impact of social capital on children's future attainments is second only to poverty

The effectiveness of web-based vs non-web-based interventions : a meta-analysis of behavioural change outcomes

WANTLAND, D J
et al
2004

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The use of the Internet to deliver web-based interventions to patients is increasing rapidly. The use and effectiveness of web-based interventions to encourage an individual's change in behaviour compared to non-web-based interventions have not been substantially reviewed; hence this meta-analysis was undertaken. This article presents a systematic review of web-based therapies intended to encourage an individual's behaviour change. Sixteen of seventeen included studies revealed the outcomes of improved knowledge and/or improved behavioural outcomes for participants using web-based interventions. Outcomes included increased exercise time, knowledge of nutritional status, slower health decline

The Ptolemy project : a scalable model for delivering health information in Africa

BEVERIDGE, M
HOWARD, A
BURTON, K
HOLDER, W
October 2003

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This article describes the Ptolmey project. This project is a new model for electronic access to medical literature for doctors in developing countries. Surgeons in east Africa become research affiliates of the University of Toronto and have access to the full-text resources of the university library via a secure Internet system that monitors and verifies use. Ptolemy is a small project but it has potential for being widely and economically reproduced

Tygerberg Children's Hospital and Rotary Telemedicine Project

2003

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The Tygerberg Children's Hospital and Rotary Telemedicine Project in South Africa uses computers and email to link specialists from Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town to doctors in more remote community or district hospitals, in an effort to improve health care in rural areas. This article provides an exploration of the project's success

Information for research in developing countries : information technology Friend or Foe?

ARUNACHALAM, S
2003

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The author details the need for and complexity of doing research in the developing country environment. He summarizes the technology divide, lack of visibility of research from these countries and how this gap is widening and notes various programmes to overcome the lack of access to information primarily journal articles. The author concludes with a number of suggestions for facilitating research in developing countries including the increase of standards and norms

ICTs application for better health in Nepal

Pradhan, M R
2003

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This article explores the strengths and weaknesses of the Internet to augment traditional health services and supply new ones. In doing so, it presents concrete cases in the developing world, with reference to Nepal, where the Internet is being used for health-related activities ranging from patient/doctor consultation through database services, to the management of epidemics

Do internet interventions for consumers cause more harm than good? A systematic review

BESSELL, Tracey L
et al
2002

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A systematic review of the effect of consumer use of online health information on decision-making, attitudes, knowledge, satisfaction and health outcomes and ulilisation. Ten comparative case studies are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Internet: all studies showed some positive effects on health outcomes, although the methodological quality of many studies was poor. The study was not specific to developing country or resource-poor context

Telemedicine versus face to face patient care : effects on professional practice and health care outcomes

CURRELL, R
et al
2000

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A Cochrane systematic review assessing the effects of telemedicine compared to direct patient care. Seven trials were included including studies in the emergency department, videoconsultations between primary and outpatients department, home care provision or self monitoring. Suggests that policy makers should be cautious about recommending increased use and investment in unevaluated technologies

Agricultural information sources

CARTER, Isabel
September 1999

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The research explored information sources used and preferred by grassroots farmers. Agriculture was selected because there is even less printed material available for farmers than, for example, for health workers. There was a particular interest in discovering the views of farmers about their access to and use of printed information. This is a summary of DFID Education Research paper no 31 (see related record)

Challenges and concerns

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This article follows on from several case studies presented on the Reproductive Health Outlook website. It draws together key issues based on a review of recent literature and project experiences. The main themes are around the significant financial, political, cultural and technological obstacles that affect the establishment of sustainable programmes, especially for computer-based ICTs. These obstacles have been identified as lack of affordability, lack of human capacity, lack of awareness of the benefits of ICT, lack of ability to use ICT proficiently, and lack of content suitable for local residents. ICTs that rely on access to the Internet need good-quality access to be truly useful

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