Category Archives: Care Challenge Selected projects

e-Prevencion presented at the Hospital Edgardo Rebagliat

IMG_1901Nurse Lady Murrugarra presented her project ePrevencion on 26 May 2016 at the Hospital Edgardo Rebagliati in Lima, Peru. The focus was on TeleHealth and Teleconsultation for Cardiovascular Health.
For those interested in her presentation, here’s the power point:
The country faces a chronic deficit of more than 8.000 medical doctors with 1.200 doctors leaving annually to work in foreign countries, EU, Chile, Brazil. TeleHealth is seen as a promising service to reach the patients in rural areas.
The presentation and exhibition stand attracted lots of visitors.
ePrevencion is a selected project of the WeObservatory and Lady Murrugarra is the coordinator of the Telehealth Research Group at the University Peruana Cayetano Heredia, in Lima.

Portrait of a Midwife – our new project

Miriam Ackroyd is a midwife and a photographer. The WeObservatory is honored to be endorsing and supporting her long-term project – Portrait of a Midwife – that consists of portraying the midwives of the world in order to inform and teach about the profession.

“I want to use photography as an instrument for education and change; encourage the world to act. I believe that powerful photography can affect the masses.  I want to help to influence governments to invest in women and their health care, by investing in midwives and their education and skill development, to make the reproductive years of women in that country much safer and make the prospect of mothering more enjoyable” , says Miriam.

The WeObservatory will be able to introduce Miriam to its network of healthcare professionals, midwives in particular, and sponsor a number of field trips. The cooperation is starting immediately and Miriam is soon flying out to Bangladesh! The photographer is also to portray the work that is being done by other members of the WeObservatory, leaders of other WeO selected projects.

We are currently working on creating a separate website for the Portrait of a Midwife. Stay tuned for the link !

WeO project from Kosovo finalized

Vjollca Kola, nurse specialized in Diabetic Foot care, has partnered up with us in order to make an efficient use of all the documents and experiences she has been gathering these last years while running her own practice in Kosovo. Together we came up with the idea to make a Guide for her patients that they will be able to take home or consult online. We are happy to announce that the Diabetic Foot Care Guide for patients has been published and available online in Albanian. We believe that having very simple and accessible guidelines and information is just a first step towards a better care and patient education.

Nurse Chinomnso Ibe selected for 2015 Mandela Washington Fellowship

WeObservatory is most  delighted to congratulate nurse Chinomnso Ibe of the “Save our mothers” project from Nigeria on being selected for the 2015 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. This selection will allow Chinomnso Ibe to engage in a 6 weeks intensive fellowship at Wagner College.

“Save our mothers” is one of the first projects selected by the WeObservatory. Nurse Ibe Chinomso and her Traffina Foundation have since gone a long way from conducting basic educational campaigns to launching now the “Clean Birth Kits” initiative. With the support from the WeObservatory and other partners the  Traffina Foundation is able to provide free delivery kits containing sterile instruments that women require at childbirth.

More about the project on the website.

More about the 2015 Mandela Washington Fellowship selection here.

Tea the Duckling launched during international nurses day

This International Nurses Day the WeObservatory has launched Tea the Duckling, the diabetes educational video for children, their parents and their teachers. The story is identical to the one of Teo the Duckling , but the main character in this video is a girl – Tea. It might not be the case for everyone, but for some little girls it is important to associate themselves with a girl character, therefore we decided it’s important to  create  two versions of the story – Teo and Tea. IMG_6228

The photo on the right: launch of the video made during the International Nurses Day in Paris with the Connecting Nurses team. From left to right: Felicity Kelliher, nurse and educator (@dk_felicity), Nick Hardiker, director of the eHealth program at ICN (@nickhardiker), Tea the Duckling , Sylvie Coumel of Connecting Nurses and Dr. Véronique Thouvenot of the WeObservatory (Millennia2025Foundation; @Vthouvenot).

photo-2Also, the author of the Teo the Duckling story, nurse Norma Grau participated in the round table discussion in Spain as part of the international digital event organized by Connecting Nurses in honor of the International Nurses Day (photo on the right). The video of this discussion is available on youtube.

And , finally, here’s the video of Tea the Duckling,  English and Spanish versions:

Teo the Duckling

Childhood and Diabetes

“Children must incorporate the illness into their daily life, but it is not easy at first. At the age of 4-6 years old they may feel different from their colleagues and friends. To include the illness into their daily life activities and avoid  stigmatization have been the key factors that pushed us to create this story” Norma Grau.

WeObservatory welcomes new projects

We are happy to announce that new projects have been selected by the WeObservatory for a one-year partnership from the Care Challenge platform. These projects benefit of the Millennia2025 Foundation international network to expand their activities.

The 2014-2015 selection includes not only projects conducted by Nurses ( via Connecting Nurses ) but also projects conducted by Midwives (via Connecting Midwives).

The new selected projects are:

Training Midwives on Emergency Obstetrics, Ethiopia

ICTs for Midwives, Mexico

Skype for Veterans, Canada

Sage-femmes et femmes migrantes, Switzerland

Cloud Babies tele-stethoscope, Australia

See the full list of selected projects on the Millennia2025 Foundation’s website.

Clean delivery kits distributed in Kogo community

“Save our mothers” is one of the first projects selected by the WeObservatory. Nurse Ibe Chinomso and her Traffina Foundation have since gone a long way from conducting basic educational campaigns to launching now the “Clean Birth Kits” initiative. With the support from the WeObservatory and other partners the  Traffina Foundation is able to provide free delivery kits containing sterile instruments that women require at childbirth. ibe

Recently a field trip to Kobo has been conducted and more Clean Birth Kits were distributed. Here’s a report that Ibe Chinomso made from this trip (pdf) :

FIELD REPORT KOGO COMMUNITY February 2015

Interview with nurse and eHealth specialist Lady Murrugarra

Lady Murrugarra, a WeObservatory active partner, has shared her experience on working with Connecting Nurses and the Millennia2025Foundation through an interview that has been recently published in French on Infirmiers.com

We’ll publish the English version of the interview shortly on the blog.

Lady Murrugarra est une infirmière du Pérou spécialisée dans la E-Santé et la télémédecine. En 2013, elle poste son projet « e-Prevention in Latin America and Caribbean » sur Care Challenge, le site internet de Connecting Nurses destiné à offrir aide et visibilité aux idées et solutions de soins innovantes partagées par les infirmiers. Son projet est alors repéré par le WeObservatoryun observatoire créé conjointement par Connecting Nurses et la Fondation Millennia2025. Lady Murrugarra nous parle aujourd’hui de son expérience et de la manière dont son projet a évolué depuis qu’elle appartient à ce réseau d’infirmiers innovants.

Comment avez-vous découvert le projet « Connecting Nurses » ?

Lady Murrugarra – J’ai découvert « Connecting Nurses » par la Fondation Millennia2025. Je suis entrée en contact avec la directrice scientifique de la Fondation, Veronique Thouvenot, lors de la Conférence régionale de la République Dominicaine en 2013. Au départ, le contact s’est fait via Skype, puis je l’ai rencontrée en personne lors de Med‑e‑Tel 2014 à Luxembourg. Un accord de collaboration avec le WeObservatory pour un an, 2013 – 2014, a permis d’établir des objectifs pour faire connaître e-Prevention au niveau international et mener une enquête locale dans la zone andine de Cajamarca.

Pourquoi avez-vous décidé de lancer le projet e-Prevention ?

Lady Murrugarra – Cela fait plus de 20 ans que nous travaillons sur le thème de l’éducation en matière de prévention des maladies, et notre objectif est de fournir les outils nécessaires pour prévenir les maladies en Amérique Latine et dans les Caraïbes, sans discrimination de sexe, d’orientation sexuelle ou de condition des populations. Nous devons faire prendre conscience aux populations vulnérables de l’importance de prendre soin de leur santé. La seule solution est la prévention. Les technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) jouent un rôle très important en ce sens ; c’est pourquoi l’amélioration des réseaux téléphoniques et le projet d’un ordinateur par enfant (One Laptop per Child) sont déjà en cours de développement. Nous réalisons un travail avant tout social, en particulier à Noël, lorsque nous nous rendons dans les communautés vulnérables pour partager avec elles ce merveilleux moment. Nous avons cependant besoin de fonds pour continuer à former les leaders de la région andine et des Caraïbes. En ayant les outils appropriés, ils sont en mesure de transmettre les connaissances dans leurs régions. Ces fonds sont donc nécessaires pour atteindre les objectifs prévus et continuer à avoir un impact au niveau local, national et international.

En quoi consiste le projet ?

Lady Murrugarra – Le projet traite principalement de la prévention et du traitement des maladies infectieuses, dont la dengue. Les infirmières font partie d’une des catégories professionnelles à être en contact permanent avec les patients souffrant de cette maladie. Cependant, beaucoup d’entre elles, en raison de leur statut de mères, n’ont ni le temps, ni la place physique nécessaire pour organiser des cours et mettre à jour leurs connaissances. Le projet a permis la formation de 15 028 personnes de différents pays de la région. La formation est gratuite et, s’ils réussissent, les participants reçoivent un certificat. C’est pour cette raison que nous recherchons des fonds, pour que la formation soit gratuite pour le public et le personnel de santé.

Votre projet a été sélectionné par le WeObservatory de la Fondation Millennia2025. Quelles en ont été les conséquences ?

Lady Murrugarra – Nous en retirons de nombreux bénéfices ! Nous avons participé et présenté notre projet à des événements, parmi lesquels on peut citer :

Nous avons aussi organisé la « Journée mondiale du sida 2014 », et encadré des événements sur la télémédecine et la télésanté organisés à Lima (Pérou) en 2014 :

Quels sont vos projets futurs au Pérou ?

Lady Murrugarra – Nous continuerons à affronter les défis auxquels nous faisons face conjointement avec l’État, les entreprises privées et les autres institutions qui nous sollicitent pour travailler ensemble. La télémédecine est déjà une réalité au Pérou, via différents canaux : télémédecine, télésanté, téléconsultation, dossiers médicaux, création de logiciels pour un diagnostic rapide, e-learning. Nous espérons que nos activités participeront à faire que les technologies de l’information et de la communication se répandent et facilitent la prévention et le traitement des maladies, et nous continuons à œuvrer pour que l’éducation et la formation deviennent par ce canal accessibles au plus grand nombre.

“Save our mothers” updates from Nigeria

“Save our mothers” is one of the first projects selected by the WeObservatory. Nurse Ibe Chinomso and her Traffina Foundation have since gone a long way from conducting basic educational campaigns to launching now the “Clean Birth Kits” initiative. With the support from the WeObservatory and other partners the  Traffina Foundation is able to provide free delivery kits containing sterile instruments that women require at childbirth.

The Traffina Foundation is also actively working now with the Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Programme and CALL TO ACTIONlaunching a “Call to Action ” to improve maternal health situation in Nigeria.

Ibe Chinomso was recently invited to talk about  Traffina Foundation’s activities and present the Clean Birth Kits at the National Newborn Health Conference in Abuja, Nigeria that took place this past October.  conf 2

 

 

 

Field Trip!

It so happens that a couple of the Care Challenge selected projects are conducted by nurses in Barcelona, Spain.  So the WeObservatory team picked Barcelona as the first target for a field trip.

Firstly, we were kindly invited by the nurses of the Programa 5′ project of the pediatric hospital Sant Juan de Deu to meet with the nursing team, discuss their projects and visit the hospital. To remind you , the Programa 5′ is a continuing education initiative through the implementation of short (5 minutes) interactive and online teaching actions for nurses.  IMG_2498The first planned step in our collaboration is to update and expand the Technical Manual for Nursing Videos in order to make the methodology transferable and help other nurses in other hospitals reproduce the project. Pictures of the hospital are posted in our Photo Gallery, check them out!

Secondly, we met with the wonderful nurse Norma Grau , author of the Teo the Duckling story for Diabetic children, and illustrator Cristina Serrat. IMG_2547As we communicated in a previous post, we met to discuss the possibilities of making an animated version of the story as well as a version customized for girls, Thea the Ducklinette. We are happy to say that he consensus has been reached and we now have connected Norma Grau and Cristina Serrat with the creative team of the ONIDEA studio, who will be producing the animated version of Teo the Duckling. IMG_2318Here , on the photo on the right, you can see the ONIDEA team holding the Zero Mothers Die pink phone.

Finally, we met with Lisa Darsch MSN RN, founder of CEO Collaborative Forum, that has kindly offered her expretise and advice on our projects,  Zero Mothers Die in particular. For those who don’t know :   our own  Véronique Thouvenot, the WeObservatory director, is also the co-founder of the ZMD project, hence the occasional overlapping on the subject in our posts.

Stay tuned for more news and pictures !

Our survey on health related ICT access in Latin America

ePrevention in Latin America and the Caribbean by nurse Lady Murrugarra is a project currently selected by the WeObservatory. Under the responsability of Lady Murrugarra – as part of the planned activities within the WeObservatory partnership agreement – a survey was conducted on usability of  communication technologies among healthcare personnel. The survey sought to collect data among the healthcare personnel in the Andean region – Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela-to assess the role ICTs currently play in the provision of health information for prevention , rapid response and emergency care in case of disaster.

To resume the conclusions, mobile cellular telephony provides the best platform for implementing ePrevention strategies among healthcare workers in the Andean region who express willingness and interest in using ICTs to seek health information and build their capacity to address key health issues affecting their countries.

Read the full report here (pdf).

 

 

Diabetes explained to children by TEO the Duckling

It is never easy to speak to children about a disease. Especially when this disease makes them feel very different from all the other children, as is the case with diabetes.

Norma Grau, a nurse from Barcelona, has written a story for diabetic children – Teo the Duckling –  that would help them learn in an easy and educative way that they mustn’t feel different or ashamed  for being diabetic. Screen Shot 2014-08-28 at 6.01.02 PM“Children must incorporate the illness into their daily life, but it is not easy at first. Various vital infancy stages have to be taken into account when helping them with the educational therapy. At the age of 4-6 years old they may feel different from their colleagues and friends, especially when doing check-ups as well as giving themselves insulin dose injections. To include the illness into their daily life activities plus avoiding stigmatization have been the key to develop our project”, says Norma Grau.

The nurse also had the story superbly illustrated by her colleague, Cristina Serrat Gómez, making it very appealing to children.

This story was  shared for the first via Care Challenge byScreen Shot 2014-08-29 at 11.37.24 AM Norma Grau and was then selected both by Connecting Nurses and the WeObservatory. Here at the WeObservatory we are planning to help the nurse further develop her idea : during 2014/2015 we will contribute to the creation of another story  customized for girls. We also plan to create an animated version of the stories. We will keep you updated on this project through our blog.

The story currently exists in three languages.

Click to access the PDF versions : English, Castellano and Catalán.

More about the virtual nurse, optimizing treatment adherence.

VIH-TAVIE™ – computer sessions – was created in order to enable people living with HIV to incorporate the therapeutic regimen into their daily routine, to cope with the side effects of medication, to handle situations or circumstances that might interfere with medication intake, to interact with health professionals, and to mobilize social support. The VIH-TAVIE™ intervention consists of four computer sessions each 20-30 minutes long, in which the user interacts with an animated “virtual” nurse (in French or English). The nurse guides the individual through a process of learning about the aptitudes required to optimize treatment adherence.

In 2012 VIH-TAVIE participated in Care Challenge and was selected by Connecting Nurses for a promotional support. More details on the Care Challenge website.  A year later it was also selected by the WeObservatory for a partnership : thus a promotional collaboration is established and the WeObservatory is engaging in adapting the videos and interactive sessions for French-speaking communities, especially in Africa , to facilitate the monitoring of HIV patients undergoing HAART. More information on the WeO website.

The official website and the blog for the TAVIE projects: www.tavieadherence.com