Malaria diagnosis and mapping with m-Health and geographic information systems (GIS): evidence from Uganda

Alberto Larocca, Roberto Moro Visconti, Michele Marconi

Risultato della ricerca: Contributo in rivistaArticolopeer review

10 Citazioni (Scopus)

Abstract

Background Rural populations experience several barriers to accessing clinical facilities for malaria diagnosis. Increasing penetration of ICT and mobile-phones and subsequent m-Health applications can contribute overcoming such obstacles. Methods GIS is used to evaluate the feasibility of m-Health technologies as part of anti-malaria strategies. This study investigates where in Uganda: (i) malaria affects the largest number of people; (ii) the application of m-Health protocol based on the mobile network has the highest potential impact. Results About 75% of the population affected by Plasmodium falciparum malaria have scarce access to healthcare facilities. The introduction of m-Health technologies should be based on the 2G protocol, as 3G mobile network coverage is still limited. The western border and the central-Southeast are the regions where m-Health could reach the largest percentage of the remote population. Six districts (Arua, Apac, Lira, Kamuli, Iganga, and Mubende) could have the largest benefit because they account for about 28 % of the remote population affected by falciparum malaria with access to the 2G mobile network. Conclusions The application of m-Health technologies could improve access to medical services for distant populations. Affordable remote malaria diagnosis could help to decongest health facilities, reducing costs and contagion. The combination of m-Health and GIS could provide real-time and geo-localised data transmission, improving anti-malarial strategies in Uganda. Scalability to other countries and diseases looks promising.
Lingua originaleInglese
pagine (da-a)520-531
Numero di pagine12
RivistaMalaria Journal
Volume15
DOI
Stato di pubblicazionePubblicato - 2016

Keywords

  • Geographic information systems (GIS)
  • Geospatial health technology
  • Healthcare
  • Information Communication Technology (ICT)
  • Information communication technology (ICT)
  • Malaria mapping
  • Mobile phones
  • Process innovation
  • Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs),
  • Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs)
  • Remote diagnosis
  • healthcare,
  • mobile phones

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