Healthcare Informatics & Technology Cure4Kids

Healthcare Informatics & Technology
1. What were the goals of the Cure4Kids program in 2003? How have they evolved?
Cure4Kids was developed with the overall intention of treating and hence improving the wellbeing of children suffering from pediatric cancer and AIDA (Quintana, Nambayan, Ribeiro, Bowers, Shuler and O’Brein, 2003). Towards this end, in addition to education, the other stated objective of Cure4Kids was the provision of “tools for communications and collaborations among individuals” (Quintana, et al. 2003, p. 978). To effectively fulfill this mandate, Cure4Kids’ website at this point contained online seminars as well as lectures presented in two main formats, i.e. audio-enabled PowerPoints and video streaming. Essentially, the website also contained tools for online conferencing. This effectively enabled health care professionals, particularly those in countries with limited resources, to not only access the relevant materials, but also collaborate in meaningful ways in an attempt to rein in pediatric cancer and AIDS.
Over the last few years, the goals of Cure4Kids have evolved. Today, Cure4Kids is a fully fledged online resource that primarily concerns itself with the provision of the relevant tools and knowhow to healthcare professionals with an intention of promoting the care and wellbeing of children suffering from cancer and other diseases deemed life-threatening. Unlike was the case in 2003, Cure4Kids now has resources tailored for other target groups as well. For instance, we now have Cure4Kids with resources tailored for parents and kids. Further, students training to become healthcare professionals also have a dedicated page where they can access free content on pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases. When it comes to collaboration, the Cure4Kids program has incorporated Working Groups whose participants essentially “discuss difficult patient cases in Pediatric Oncology, work on new protocols, and conduct research activities” (Cure4Kids, 2019).
2. How are they leveraging information technology to meet their goals? How have they expanded this compared with what was in the assigned AMIA paper?
In essence, professionals from countries having limited resources find it difficult to access the relevant tools and knowhow to address a host of health challenges. This is more so the case given the costs associated with access to the relevant information on a diverse set of healthcare concerns. Cure4Kids leverages information technology in a way that effectively eliminates this cost factor. This is more so the case given that its “online training and collaboration tools are freely available to registered users” (Cure4Kids, 2019). Unlike was the case in 2003, Cure4Kids now makes it cost effective for other groups (i.e. patents, kids, and students) to access the relevant health information as well. Next, it should also be noted that in some instances, language barriers get in the way of the effective delivery of care. The health concerns that Cure4Kids targets afflict children from across the world. The fact that different jurisdictions utilize diverse languages as their preferred mode of communication could get in the way of access to quality resources available in other standard languages, i.e. English. In that regard, therefore, the only way to ensure that the tools and knowhow on various topics are beneficial across the board is by ensuring that the relevant resources are available in multiple languages. Cure4Kids has effectively leveraged information technology to meet its goal of promoting the care and wellbeing of children from across the world suffering from cancer and other diseases deemed life-threatening by ensuring that the relevant materials are translated to a variety of languages. The said languages include, but they are not limited to, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, and Spanish. It is also important to note that the Cure4Kids’ website menus are available in a variety of languages. The language diversity function has significantly improved since 2003 – from only a few languages to multiple languages.
3. Think about the tools and techniques that this program uses. Hypothesize how these might be used to solve another healthcare business challenge. Write-up:
A: Description of Opportunity
HIV remains one of the most challenging health concerns across the world. It is important to note that although significant gains have been made in seeking to contain the scourge, the battle is far from being won. This is more so the case given that the rate of HIV infection remains relatively high. Despite the various approaches that have been adopted in the war against HIV, “global new HIV infections have declined by just 18% in the past seven years, from 2.2 million in 2010 to 1.8 million in 2017…” with the said decline being “not quick enough to reach the target of fewer than 500,000 by 2020” (Avert, 2019). This is an indication that more needs to be done if new infection rates are to be significantly reduced. One of the approaches that ought to be adopted in this regard is the utilization of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). In basic terms, this has got to do with the “use of anti-HIV medications to keep HIV negative people from being infected” (Avert, 2019). It is also important to note that various research studies have clearly indicated that when taken as advised, PrEPs are capable of protecting HIV negative persons from getting infected with the virus. Indeed, in the words of Arkell (2017), “evidence suggests that oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is as effective for women as it is for men when used consistently and correctly.” Towards this end, the relevance of exploring approaches meant to promote the proper and consistent utilization of PrEPs cannot be overstated. This is more so the case given that PrEPs appear to be the most promising ammunition against new HIV infections. The approach suggested in this case would involve an online resource dedicated to the further promotion of strategies meant to enhance the consistent and correct use of PrEPs – particularly amongst those populations at high risk of infection, i.e. sex workers.
B: An overview of how you would leverage your selected tools and techniques to positively impact your opportunity
In this case, a web-based/online education resource would be formulated with the sole mandate of promoting the correct and consistent use of PrEPs. Towards this end, the resource would primarily target two groups of audience/users: i.e. healthcare professionals and social workers involved in the distribution and prescription of PrEPs, and users of PrEPs (i.e. sex workers). Membership to the resource would be free. In seeking to fulfill its mandate, the online project would leverage the following tools and techniques:
· Provide an online library stocked with the relevant publications on PrEPs and the most current research on their effectiveness and utilization. The online library would also have the relevant publications on how PrEPs have been implemented in other settings and how effective various modes of implementation have been in the said settings. The online library would be targeted at healthcare professionals and social workers involved in the distribution and prescription of PrEPs and would be seeking to equip the said personnel with the relevant skills to play a meaningful role in the promotion of the effective as well as consistent use of PrEPs amongst the targeted population.
· Create a functionality to facilitate the exchange of information amongst healthcare professionals involved in the distribution and prescription of PrEPs. This will be modeled around the chat room function. Here, participants can share knowledge on what works and what does not, as well as new approaches that ought to be explored.
· The online resource will also have the functionality to promote consultation and mentoring. In this case, users of PrEPs (i.e. sex workers) can consult professionals in real time and have their questions answered at no cost at all.
C: What factors would you consider in developing an IT solution to support this opportunity?
In developing an IT solution to support this opportunity, I would take into consideration the three factors highlighted below:
· Audience/users: the demographics of the audience/users would be considerate so as to ensure that the content and functionalities provided are not only relevant but also appropriate. The audience/users would also dictate the languages to be incorporated.
· Cost: The cost of not only developing but also maintaining the resource would be taken into consideration. This is more so the case given the need to ensure that we do not have down-times at any point after the successful launch of the same.
· Continuity: To sufficiently fulfill its mandate, the resource would have to be a ‘going concern.’ It would be expected to continue in operation into the foreseeable future. To ensure that this is achieved, the relevance of maintaining constant flow of the relevant resources and promotion of healthy engagements cannot be overstated.
D: A list of risks and/or issues that you might encounter with your envisioned effort
My envisioned effort could encounter some challenges. These have been identified as poor reception, funding issues, and legal concerns. With regard to poor reception, it should be noted that the target audience/users could show little interest in the online resource – effectively frustrating its mandate. When it comes to funding issues, there are no guarantees at present that sponsors will be found to underwrite the smooth operation of the resource. Lastly, it is important to note that given that the online resource will be dealing with the topics of health and wellbeing, there is the risk of lawsuits originating from the consumers of health information as a result of adverse reactions.
References
Arkell, C. (2017). Research Update: Meta-Analysis Shows Prep is Effective in Women With High Adherence. Retrieved from https://www.catie.ca/en/pif/spring-2017/research-update-meta-analysis-shows-prep-effective-women-high-adherence
Avert (2019). Global HIV and Aids Statistics. Retrieved From https://www.avert.org/global-hiv-and-aids-statistics
Cure4Kids (2019). Sharing Knowledge & Expertise Worldwide. Retrieved from: https://www.cure4kids.org/
Quintana, Y., Nambayan, A., Ribeiro, R., Bowers, L., Shuler, A. & O’Brein, R. (2003). Cure4Kids - Building Online Learning and Collaboration Networks. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1480170/pdf/amia2003_0978.pdf