News from the USAID Global Health eLearning Center

We are pleased to share with you new developments at the USAID Global Health eLearning Center. Please log in soon to see and experience them for yourself!

New home page

Announcing: Certificate Programs

Certificate Programs have been developed to help you focus your learning with a more comprehensive study of key topics in global health. You can earn a certificate in a variety of global health focus areas by successfully completing all courses within one area. As of August 2010 the Certificate Programs include:

* Child Survival
* Cross-Cutting Topics
* Family Planning and Reproductive Health
* Gender and Health
* Health Systems
* HIV/AIDS
* Infectious Diseases
* Maternal Health
* Neonatal Health

Certificates Programs will be expanded as new courses are developed. After logging in, visit the ‘Your Home’ page to see what progress you have already made towards a certificate)!

(Please note that these certificates do not apply to university or college degrees and do not automatically provide continuing medical education credits for health professionals.)

PEPFAR courses

PEPFAR eLearning courses offer state-of-the-art technical and programmatic information to USG staff, implementing partners, and national HIV/AIDS program staff around the world. The goal of the PEPFAR eLearning initiative is to expand the reach, use, and usefulness of critical guidance through courses that combine technical content with program principles, best practices, and case studies. Courses provide concrete examples and stimulate thinking about ways the principles and best practices can be used to solve problems in the field. PEPFAR eLearning courses are developed by a team of experts from PEPFAR agencies and their implementing partners.

The present menu of courses focuses on topics relevant to Strategic Information. Future courses will include topics from across all PEPFAR technical areas. Each course has a defined target audience, which may include both technical and programmatic staff from USG agencies as well as well as implementing partners, national HIV/AIDS program staff, and other collaborators.

Peoples-uni second semester 2010 open for enrolment‏

Semester 2, 2010 is now open for enrolment for new and returning students from developing countries, and will start on September 20th. If you are a potential student, please go to http://peoples-uni.org where you will see enrolment forms for new and returning students. If you are a new student, please note that a requirement for enrolment is to go to 'Are you ready for Peoples-uni?' which you will find at http://courses.peoples-uni.org/course/category.php?id=30, and to send us an email confirming that you are ready to enrol. New modules this semester include 'Evaluation of Interventions', 'Public Health Ethics', and 'Non-Communicable Diseases - CVD and Diabetes'.

Tunstall Healthcare Awarded Framework Agreement from Buying Solutions

Tunstall Healthcare has been awarded a framework agreement for the supply of telecare, telehealth and telecoaching equipment and services to local authorities and NHS organisations. The new framework agreement was awarded by Buying Solutions, the national procurement partner for all UK public services and part of the Efficiency and Reform Group within the Cabinet Office. read more

Medical News: Remote Monitoring Benefit Affirmed in Heart Failure - in Cardiovascular, CHF from MedPage Today

Keeping an eye on heart failure patients with remote monitoring technology between visits can improve outcomes, according to a Cochrane review.

All-cause mortality in heart failure patients fell with telemonitoring (RR 0.66, P=0.08), found Sally C. Inglis, BHSc, of Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues.

Heart failure-related hospitalizations dropped with both telemonitoring (RR 0.79, P=0.008) and structured telephone support (RR 0.77, P=0.0001),Cochrane Library ...(read more from Medpage Today)

Medical News: Remote Monitoring Benefit Affirmed in Heart Failure - in Cardiovascular, CHF from MedPage Today

E-Health Europe: EC tenders for e-health studies

The European Commission is tendering for the production of a study on enhancing procurement of ICT solutions in healthcare.

The call, which closes on 30 July 2010, aims to develop guidelines for healthcare decision makers on how to best conduct planning processes when procuring e-health systems.

It will help to achieve more efficient and effective healthcare through the adoption of ICT in the service delivery process as well as taking into consideration the Lead Market Initiative for e-health and the EC’s Communication on Telemedicine and the European e-health action plan.

The study will see researchers identify and analyse the challenges hindering the procurement of e-health systems and then find possible approaches for tackling those challenges.

The Commission plans to develop guidelines for on how to use ICT to achieve strategic healthcare goals.

The study will analyse ten e-health procurement initiatives carried out in the 27 Member States of the European Union, as well as Norway, Iceland or Switzerland.

However, it will focus specifically on the implementation of region-wide electronic health record systems and the use of telehealth in specific chronic disease management programmes run at regional level or in wide local areas.

The EC has also announced a separate call for researchers to explore and analyse relationships between emerging ICT and the development and use of assistive technologies and e-Accessibility.

The study will aim to assess whether there is an obvious relationship between ICT and assistive technologies as well as looking at relevant trends and challenges.

In addition the Commission requires the study to elaborate and discuss a series of hypothetical scenarios on the future development of assistive technologies and provide recommendations for research priorities and policy measure that can be used at European level.

The study will be carried out over the next twelve months with responses to the call being submitted by 25 August 2010.

E-Health Europe :: EC tenders for e-health studies

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