Publications by authors named "J M Uwitonze"

Delays in getting injured patients to hospital in a timely manner can increase avoidable death and disability. Like many low- or middle-income countries (LMICs), Rwanda experiences delays related to lack of efficient prehospital communication and formal guidelines to triage patients for hospital care. This paper describes the protocol to develop, roll out, and evaluate the effectiveness of a Destination Decision Support Algorithm (DDSA) integrated in an electronic communication platform, '912Rwanda'.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study analyzed acute care utilization for mental health issues in eight high-income countries (Canada, England, Finland, France, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and the US) from 2017 to 2020, focusing on hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits.
  • - The findings revealed significant differences in care rates; the US had the highest combined rate of acute care at 1613/100,000 people, while Finland had the lowest at 776/100,000, with France and Spain showing varying hospitalization rates.
  • - Over the COVID-19 pandemic, shifts in care settings were noted, particularly in the US where patients moved more towards inpatient settings from EDs, while Canada and France experienced overall
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ageism in healthcare has received increased attention in recent years, but literature focusing on how it affects individuals living with rare diseases remains scant. The rare disease population already faces obstacles when navigating health systems, and ageism has the potential to exacerbate existing health inequities. We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed and gray literature on health inequities in rare disease populations, seeking to identify publications that reported primary or secondary data on the equitable or inequitable treatment of these populations, or that discussed related regulatory, moral, or philosophical issues.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Skin prick tests (SPTs), or intraepidermal tests, are often the first diagnostic approach for people with a suspected allergy. Together with the clinical history, SPTs allow doctors to draw conclusions on allergies based on the sensitization pattern. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential cost consequences that would accrue to a Swiss University hospital after the adoption of computer vision-based SPTs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Prompt, high-quality pre-hospital emergency medical services (EMS) can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality. The goal of this study was to identify factors that compromise efficiency and quality of pre-hospital emergency care in Rwanda, and explore the opportunities for a mobile health (mHealth) tool to address these challenges.

Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 individuals representing four stakeholder groups: EMS dispatch staff, ambulance staff, hospital staff, and policymakers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF