Telemedicine in the Clinical Care of Neglected Tropical Diseases: A Scoping Review.

Background: The Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) represent a global public health problem. Telemedicine uses telecommunications to deliver remote healthcare services when patients and providers are separated by distance. Using digital health technologies to offer medical care remotely to NTDs can be an important strategy for reducing inequalities in access but is challenging in low-and middle-income settings.

Digital health and quality of care in Primary Health Care: an evaluation model.

Introduction: The implementation of technologies in Primary Health Care with monitoring and evaluation of the quality of health care is fundamental to direct the access and quality of health care in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals. Our objective was to develop a model for evaluating digital health interventions in primary care, considering its impact on first contact, longitudinality, integrality and coordination in health.

Methodology: This is an exploratory methodological study of a qualitative nature.

Provision of Digital Primary Health Care Services: Overview of Reviews.

Background: Digital health is a growing field, and many digital interventions have been implemented on a large scale since the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly in primary health care (PHC). The development of digital health interventions and their application in PHC are encouraged by the World Health Organization. The increased number of published scientific papers on this topic has resulted in an overwhelming amount of information, but there is no overview of reviews to summarize this evidence.

How to help countries improve resilience during a pandemic: an example of a Rapid Exchange Forum.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic demanded quick exchanges between experts and institutions supporting governments to provide evidence-based information in response to the crisis. Initially, there was no regular cross-country forum in the field of population health. This paper describes the set-up and benefits of implementing such a forum.

European Health Information Portal: a one-stop shop for health information.

Background: Timely and high-quality population-level health information is needed to support evidence-informed decision-making, for planning and evaluation of prevention, care and cure activities as well as for research to generate new knowledge. FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principles are one of the key elements supporting health research and making it more cost-effective through the reuse of already existing data. Currently, health data are in many countries dispersed and difficult to find and access.

Foresight in public health: a tutorial on application and insights on challenges from the PHIRI foresight exercise.

Background: The application of foresight to the field of public health is limited. There is growing need to anticipate uncertain future trends and to plan for them. Foresight provides tools to experts and policymakers to discuss and plan for possible futures.

The role of digital tools and emerging devices in COVID-19 contact tracing during the first 18 months of the pandemic: a systematic review.

Background: Contact tracing is a public health intervention implemented in synergy with other preventive measures to curb epidemics, like the coronavirus pandemic. The development and use of digital devices have increased worldwide to enhance the contact tracing process. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of tracking coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients using digital solutions.

European Health Information Training Programme: a sustainable strategy for strengthening capacity in health information.

Background: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a need for a uniform approach to health information (HI) knowledge in population health analysis across Europe was evident. The Population Health Information Research Infrastructure (PHIRI) emerged as a proactive initiative to strengthen European HI capacities. This article describes the achievements of PHIRI, highlighting its capacity-building activities and their contribution towards a sustainable strategy for the implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS).

Digital home care interventions and quality of primary care for older adults: a scoping review.

Background: Population aging is forcing the transformation of health care. Long-term care in the home is complex and involves complex communication with primary care services. In this scenario, the expansion of digital health has the potential to improve access to home-based primary care; however, the use of technologies can increase inequalities in access to health for an important part of the population.

Evolution of the availability of Information and Communication Technologies in primary health care in Brazil, 2012 to 2018.

Objective: To verify the evolution of the availability of information and communication technology equipment and inputs in primary health care services that participated in the external evaluation of the Access and Quality Improvement Program in Primary Care and its distribution according to context characteristics social and geographic.

Methods: Cross-sectional study, analyzed the distribution of information and communication technology equipment in basic health units in Brazil, during the three cycles (2012 to 2018) of the Program for Improving Access and Quality in Primary Care. The variables were examined at the municipal level and stratified by geopolitical region.

Reasons for implementation success despite health system constraints: qualitative insights on 'what worked' for cotrimoxazole preventive therapy.

Background: Although Cotrimoxazole preventive therapy (CPT) has shown to be highly efficacious in reducing morbidity and mortality among people living with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) under 'ideal world' study conditions, operational challenges are limiting its effectiveness when implementing in countries most affected by the HIV epidemic. The fact that Mozambican authorities reported high coverage of CPT among patients with HIV, has led to this qualitative case study aimed at exploring possible factors responsible for the successful implementation of CPT in the Province of Maputo.

Methods: Between February and April 2019, we individually interviewed nine governmental stakeholders, including the person responsible for the HIV Program, the person responsible for the TB Program and the person responsible for Pharmaceutical management at three administrative levels (central, provincial and district level).

The use of Information and Communication Technologies in Primary Health Care in Brazil - the period of 2014 to 2018.

Information and Communication Technologies in Health allow the storage and processing of digital data, access to information and remote communications. The objective of this article was to describe the use of these Technologies to support clinical practice and continuing education by primary health care teams in Brazil the period of 2014 to 2018, within the scope of the Access and Quality Improvement Program Basic, according to characteristics of the geopolitical context. It's a cross-sectional study that analyzed the data collected from the teams of the Basic Health Units.

Protocol for a cluster randomised trial of a goal-oriented care approach for multimorbidity patients supported by a digital platform.

Introduction: Health information systems represent an opportunity to improve the care provided to people with multimorbidity. There is a pressing need to assess their impact on clinical outcomes to validate this intervention. Our study will determine whether using a digital platform (Multimorbidity Management Health Information System, METHIS) to manage multimorbidity improves health-related quality of life (HR-QoL).

Impacts of public health and social measures on COVID-19 in Europe: a review and modified Delphi technique.

Introduction: The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 led countries to implement a set of public health and social measures (PHSMs) attempting to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study aims to review the existing literature regarding key results of the PHSMs that were implemented, and to identify the PHSMs considered to have most impacted the epidemiological curve of COVID-19 over the last years during different stages of the pandemic.

Methods: The PHSM under study were selected from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), supplemented by topics presented during the Rapid Exchange Forum (REF) meetings in the scope of the Population Health Information Research Infrastructure (PHIRI) project (H2020).

Digital health interventions and quality of home-based primary care for older adults: A scoping review protocol.

Introduction: The use of digital health interventions has expanded, particularly in home-based primary care (HBPC), following the increase in the older adult population and the need to respond to the higher demand of chronic conditions, weakness and loss of autonomy of this population. There was an even greater demand with COVID-19 and subsequent isolation/social distancing measures for this risk group. The objective of this study is to map and identify the uses and types of digital health interventions and their reported impacts on the quality of HBPC for older adults worldwide.

Monitoring of surface cleaning and disinfection in a Brazilian pediatric unit.

Background: Understanding the correlation between the methods of monitoring surface cleaning and disinfection (SCD) is fundamental for better infection control.

Purpose: This study aims to correlate the SCD monitoring methods in a Brazilian pediatric unit. This is an exploratory, longitudinal, and correlational study.

The InfAct proposal for a sustainable European health information infrastructure on population health: the Distributed Infrastructure on Population Health (DIPoH).

Background: In Europe, data on population health is fragmented, difficult to access, project-based and prone to health information inequalities in terms of availability, accessibility and especially in quality between and within countries. This situation is further exacerbated and exposed by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The Joint Action on Health Information (InfAct) that builds on previous works of the BRIDGE Health project, carried out collaborative action to set up a sustainable infrastructure for health information in the European Union (EU).

Digital Health Opportunities to Improve Primary Health Care in the Context of COVID-19: Scoping Review.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic brought social, economic, and health impacts, requiring fast adaptation of health systems. Although information and communication technologies were essential for achieving this objective, the extent to which health systems incorporated this technology is unknown.

Objective: The aim of this study was to map the use of digital health strategies in primary health care worldwide and their impact on quality of care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Digital Health Service for Elderly People with Balance Disorders and Risk of Falling: A Design Science Approach.

In this study, a design science research methodology was used aiming at designing, implementing and evaluating a digital health service to complement the provision of healthcare for elderly people with balance disorders and risk of falling. An explanatory sequential mixed methods study allowed to identify and explore the dissatisfaction with electronic medical records and the opportunity for using digital health solutions. The suggested recommendations helped to elaborate and develop "BALANCE", a digital service implemented on the METHIS platform, which was recently validated for remote monitoring of chronic patients in primary healthcare.

Integrating technical and political views for a sustainable European Distributed Infrastructure on Population Health.

Background: Non-Communicable diseases (NCD) are the main contributors to mortality and burden of disease. There is no infrastructure in Europe that could provide health information (HI) on Public Health monitoring and Health Systems Performance (HSP) for research and evidence-informed decision-making. Moreover, there was no EU and European Economic Area Member States (EU/EEA MSs) general consensus, on developing this initiative and guarantee its sustainability.

Remote Monitoring Systems for Patients With Chronic Diseases in Primary Health Care: Systematic Review.

Background: The digital age, with digital sensors, the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data tools, has opened new opportunities for improving the delivery of health care services, with remote monitoring systems playing a crucial role and improving access to patients. The versatility of these systems has been demonstrated during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Health remote monitoring systems (HRMS) present various advantages such as the reduction in patient load at hospitals and health centers.