This LibGuide is the current incarnation of the Virtual Research Library, "...an electronic collection of research-related resources created as a collaboration between the Nepalese Association of Palliative Care (NAPCare) and the University of Virginia Sc
Virtual Research Library
Special Topics
Mobile Health
- Mobile health or ‘mHealth’ describes the use of mobile technology, like phones, tablets, and apps, to provide health care.
- mHealth is useful in any setting but especially has the potential to expand access to healthcare services in rural or remote areas, improving patient outcomes.
- mHealth can be used to collect patient data for research and allow providers and patients to communicate easily.
- Introduction to mHealth: How to approach mHealth
- A comprehensive guide for understanding the strengths and limitations of mHealth, mHealth research, and how to implement in practice.
- Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-2025
- A 36-page PDF from the World Health Organization (WHO) defining the goals, vision, and steps for expanding the reach and efficacy of mobile health technology in a global context.
- Tipping Point of Telemedicine and mHealth
- TedTalk by Radhika Chigurupati with useful examples of mHealth research and practices that have been implemented with a focus on LMICs.
- Introduction to Mobile Health Technologies
- Overview with helpful examples of types of technologies involved in mHealth.
- Designing mHealth Studies in Low and Middle-Income Countries
- This video from the UICC World Cancer Congress discusses key principles and ‘lessons learned’ about conducting mHealth research in LMICs.
- mHealth Basics: Introduction to Mobile Technology for Health | Global Health eLearning Center
- Note: You must create an online account using an email address to access this free course.
- Introduction to mHealth Online Training Course and mHealth at the NIH
- Online training course detailing mHealth research, provided by the NIH.
- Introduction to Mobile Health Tools to Support Ebola Surveillance and Contact Tracing in Guinea
- This article describes an example of using mHealth in Guinea to control Ebola.
- Planning an Information Systems Project: A Toolkit for Public Health Managers
- This resource guides project planners through important steps and considerations for mHealth projects, from defining project goals all the way to implementation plans.
- Health Information Systems Interoperability Maturity Toolkit — MEASURE Evaluation
- This toolkit from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) aims to increase interoperability and standardization of mHealth interventions, increasing access for policymakers and researchers.
- The toolkit involves three components: a model, an assessment tool, and a user’s guide.
- Monitoring and Evaluating Digital Health Interventions
- The WHO published a step-by-step guide for researchers to monitor and evaluate their mHealth projects.
- To access the guide, fill out the Google Form that is linked on the webpage under “Downloads.”
- The MAPS Toolkit
- The mHealth Assessment and Planning for Scale (MAPS) Toolkit from the WHO provides guidance for researchers to scale up existing mHealth projects.
- To access the MAPS Toolkit, fill out the Google Form that is linked on the webpage under “Downloads.”
- Agarwal, S., LeFevre, A. E., Lee, J., L’Engle, K., Mehl, G., Sinha, C., & Labrique, A. (2016). Guidelines for reporting of health interventions using mobile phones: Mobile health (mHealth) evidence reporting and assessment (mERA) checklist. BMJ 352, i1174
- Chib, A., van Velthoven, M. H., & Car, J. (2015). mHealth adoption in low-resource environments: A review of the use of mobile healthcare in developing countries. Journal of Health Communication, 20(1), 4-34.
- Global Digital Health Index. (2019). Global Digital Health Index. Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://www.digitalhealthindex.org/
- This interactive website from the Global Digital Health Index allows users to explore the implementation and spread of mHealth technology globally.
- Kruse, C., Betancourt, J., Ortiz, S., Luna, S. M. V., Bamrah, I. K., & Segovia, N. (2019). Barriers to the use of mobile health in improving health outcomes in developing countries: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(10), e13263.
- Labrique, A., Agarwal, S., Tamrat, T. & Mehl, G.(2020)WHO Digital Health Guidelines: A milestone for global health. npj Digital Medicine (3),120.
- Lewis, J., Ray, P., & Liaw, S.-T. (2016). Recent worldwide developments in eHealth and mHealth to more effectively manage cancer and other chronic diseases: A systematic review. Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 93-108.
- World Health Organization. (2019). WHO guideline: Recommendations on digital interventions for health system strengthening. Geneva: World Health Organization. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
Implementation Science
- Implementation Science plays a critical role in delivering cancer control practices.
- Implementation Science includes methods to promote the adoption and integration of evidence-based practices, interventions, and policies.
- Implementation Science examines how evidence-based programs work in the real world.
- Overview of Implementation Science
- A comprehensive U.S. National Cancer Institute guide for Cancer Control Practitioners that offers a systematic approach to implement evidence-based, public health programs, regardless of where you are in your implementation process.
- What is Implementation Science?
- A 16-minute video from Interdisciplinary Research Leaders (a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program) that talks about the basics of implementation science with relevant examples.
- Introduction to Dissemination and Implementation Science
- This is an excellent 8-module webinar series from the U.S. National Institute of Cancer Division of Cancer Control & Population Sciences.
- Implementation Science Methodologies and Frameworks
- This U.S. National Institute of Health Fogarty International Center toolkit describes the implementation science model with examples.
- Bauer, M. S., Damschroder, L., Hagedorn, H., Smith, J., & Kilbourne, A. M. (2015). An introduction to implementation science for the non-specialist. BMC Psychology, 3(32), 1–12.
Non-Communicable Disease Research
- Non-communicable disease (NCD) research seeks to prevent and control non-communicable (non-infectious) diseases, such as cancer or diabetes.
- NCD research is especially important in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) as the burden of NCDs is growing rapidly
- NCD research capacity strengthening strategies
- The article summarizes NCD research capacity strengthening strategies that have been undertaken in LMICs.
- WHO guide to NCD research
- This guide from the World Health Organization provides guidance to implementation research in the prevention and control of NCD.
- Hofman, K., Ryce, A., Prudhomme, W., & Kotzin, S. (2006). Reporting of non-communicable disease research in low- and middle-income countries: a pilot bibliometric analysis. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 94(4), 415–420.
- This paper identifies the relative amount of research devoted to NCD in LMICs.
- Neupane, G., Acharya, S., Bhattarai, M., Upadhyay, A., Belbase, B., Bhandari, M., Pandeya, D.,Pokharel, S., Ghimire, S., Thapa, G., Karmacharya, B., Bhatt, M. R., Spertus, J. A., Neupane, D., Timsina, L., & Pokharel, Y. (2020). Study, design, and rationale of Noncommunicable Diseases in Nepal (NCD Nepal) Study: A community-based prospective epidemiological and implementation study in rural Nepal. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 9, 2164956120917379.
- Describes the protocol of a community-based, longitudinal epidemiological study of screening and management of NCDs in rural Nepal.