In resource-poor countries, substantial sums of money from governments and international donors are used to purchase equipment for health facilities. WHO estimates that 50—80% of such equipment remains non-functional. This article is based on experience from various projects in developing countries in Asia and Africa. The key issues in the purchase, distribution, installation, management and ma...

This paper explores potential channels through which information technology (IT) affects economic development. The channel emphasized here is the reduction of transaction costs through the use of information technology. We discuss the nature of transaction costs, their possible impacts on economic outcomes, and the impacts of IT on transaction costs. We provide a theoretical discussion of how a...

BACKGROUND Teamwork is important for patient care and outcome in emergencies. In rural areas, efficient communication between rural hospitals and regional trauma centers optimise decisions and treatment of trauma patients. Little is known on potentials and effects of virtual team to team cooperation between rural and regional trauma teams. METHODS We adapted a video conferencing (VC) system t...

INTRODUCTION The sustainability of New Zealand's rural hospitals has been in question for some years. Increasingly, clinical services have been centralised and specialist staff have moved to bigger centres. As well as clinical services, the governance of these hospitals has shifted, often due to a shortage of vocationally registered medical practitioners available to lead the clinical services....

*Correspondence to: JDD NGIRABEGA, MD, PhD, RULI Hospital, PO Box 1285 KIGALI. e-mail: [email protected] Tel GSM : +250788650824 Background: In Rwanda, the initiation of community-based growth monitoring services improves access to malnutrition assessment and treatment for high risk children in rural communities. Although community services have improved access for these children, the consisten...

Background. Delay in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) diagnosis is one of the major factors that affect outcome and threatens continued spread of tuberculosis. This study aimed at determining factors associated with delayed PTB diagnosis among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected individuals. Methods. A retrospective observational study was done using clinic records of HIV-infected PTB suspe...

OBJECTIVE Little is known about availability of resources for managing intimate partner violence (IPV) at rural hospitals. We assessed differences in availability of resources for IPV screening and management between rural and urban emergency departments (EDs) in Oregon. METHODS We conducted a standardized telephone interview of Oregon ED directors and nurse managers on six IPV-related resour...

Perhaps the greatest development in rural communication technology in the middle of the 19 th century was an eight foot board tied to the back of a horse. The King Road Drag scraped along country roads leveling humps and filling potholes. 1 The flat roads permitted rural postal deliveries, the development of parcel post and eventually a flood of information from catalog companies and publishers...

BACKGROUND Frequent and long-term commuting is a requirement for dialysis patients. Accessibility thus affects their quality of lives. In this paper, a new model for accessibility measurement is proposed in which both geographic distance and facility capacity are taken into account. Simulation of closure of rural facilities and that of capacity transfer between urban and rural facilities are co...

Using a policy analysis framework, we analyzed the implementation and perceived effectiveness of a rural allowance policy and its influence on the motivation and retention of health professionals in rural hospitals in the North West province of South Africa. We conducted 40 in-depth interviews with policy-makers, hospital managers, nurses, and doctors at five rural hospitals and found weaknesse...