Integration of new digital antenatal care tools using the WHO SMART guideline approach: Experiences from Rwanda and Zambia.

Objectives: Digital tools for decision-support and health records can address the protracted process of guideline adoption at local levels and accelerate countries' implementation of new health policies and programmes. World Health Organization (WHO) launched the SMART Guidelines approach to support the uptake of clinical, public health, and data recommendations within digital systems. SMART guidelines are a package of tools that include Digital Adaptation Kits (DAKs), which distill WHO guidelines into a format that facilitates translation into digital systems.

Risk factors associated with albuminuria in Rwanda: results from a STEPS survey.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a growing burden which affects every part of the world, including developing countries. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has varied etiology which can result from or complicate other NCDs such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The growing prevalence of NCDs coupled with the increasing age in most developing countries, has seen a marked increase of CKD in these settings.

Integration of International Classification of Diseases Version 11 Application Program Interface (API) in the Rwandan Electronic Medical Records (openMRS): Findings from Two District Hospitals in Rwanda.

World Health Organisation (WHO) has updated the International Classification of Diseases to version 11 (ICD-11) which was recently adopted for use by countries in 2019. ICD-11 can be used in Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems with support of extended technologies like Application Program Interface (API). Integration of ICD-11 in Rwandan EMR (OpenMRS) in two health facilities was conducted in July-October 2019.

Conclusions of the digital health hub of the Transform Africa Summit (2018): strong government leadership and public-private-partnerships are key prerequisites for sustainable scale up of digital health in Africa.

Background: The use of digital technologies to improve access to health is gaining momentum in Africa. This is more pertinent with the increasing penetration of mobile phone technology and internet use, and calls for innovative strategies to support implementation of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage on the continent. However, the huge potential benefits of digital health to advance health services delivery in Africa is yet to be fully harnessed due to critical challenges such as proliferation of pilot projects, poor coordination, inadequate preparedness of the African health workforce for digital health, lack of interoperability and inadequate sustainable financing, among others.

Risk factors for transmission of Typhi in Mahama refugee camp, Rwanda: a matched case-control study.

Introduction: In early October 2015, the health facility in Mahama, a refugee camp for Burundians, began to record an increase in the incidence of a disease characterized by fever, chills and abdominal pain. The investigation of the outbreak confirmed Typhi as the cause. A case-control study was conducted to identify risk factors for the disease.

Knowledge, attitude and practice of hygiene and sanitation in a Burundian refugee camp: implications for control of a Salmonella typhi outbreak.

Introduction: A outbreak was reported in a Burundian refugee camp in Rwanda in October 2015. Transmission persisted despite increased hygiene promotion activities and hand-washing facilities instituted to prevent and control the outbreak. A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of ongoing typhoid fever preventive interventions.

A population-based national estimate of the prevalence and risk factors associated with hypertension in Rwanda: implications for prevention and control.

Background: Hypertension is a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases and a growing public health problem in many developed and developing countries. However, population-based data to inform policy development are scarce in Rwanda. This nationally representative study aimed to determine population-based estimates of the prevalence and risk factors associated with hypertension in Rwanda.

Evaluating the relevance of disability weights for adjusting disease-cost and comorbidity calculations at the Kigali University Teaching Hospital.

Evaluating the burden of diseases treated in hospitals in terms of (co)morbidity and financial impact is a long standing problem. Proposed solutions often rely on very sophisticated medical registration systems that are less suitable for developing countries. The authors have developed a simple prototype method for calculating financial impact and comorbidity of clinical conditions treated in a Sub-Saharan hospital environment (CALCO method) using disability weights.