Design, development and usability of an educational AI chatbot for People with Haemophilia in Senegal.

INTRODUCTION: Gaps in the disease knowledge of People with Haemophilia (PWH) in Senegal are important barriers to the effective management of haemophilia. Digital health systems for chronic diseases in low- and middle-income countries are suggested to improve education and self-management. Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots could improve knowledge and support symptom monitoring. AIM: Development process and usability testing of an AI chatbot to assess its future adoption in Senegal. METHODS: An AI chatbot prototype was designed based on a multilingual conversational engine using Natural Language Processing. A sequential mixed method was used including a co-creative design process with a task force made up of PWH and medical doctors. Usability was assessed through the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire. RESULTS: An AI chatbot in French and Wolof, named Saytù Hemophilie, was developed for Android and Apple iOS devices. It was assessed as a very usable system with a SUS score of 81.7, above average. 42% would prefer to use the Wolof version even if they were very satisfied with the French version. The level of Wolof in the app did not always correspond to users' levels. Participants praised its accessibility and reliability, and its ability to enhance self-learning. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that a culturally adapted digital conversational agent is likely to be used by PWH in Senegal and their families to improve education and self-management of haemophilia. Relevance and impact are foreseen for other communities in Africa and beyond.

Correction: iCHECK-DH: Guidelines and Checklist for the Reporting on Digital Health Implementations.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/46694.].

iCHECK-DH: Guidelines and Checklist for the Reporting on Digital Health Implementations.

BACKGROUND: Implementation of digital health technologies has grown rapidly, but many remain limited to pilot studies due to challenges, such as a lack of evidence or barriers to implementation. Overcoming these challenges requires learning from previous implementations and systematically documenting implementation processes to better understand the real-world impact of a technology and identify effective strategies for future implementation. OBJECTIVE: A group of global experts, facilitated by the Geneva Digital Health Hub, developed the Guidelines and Checklist for the Reporting on Digital Health Implementations (iCHECK-DH, pronounced "I checked") to improve the completeness of reporting on digital health implementations. METHODS: A guideline development group was convened to define key considerations and criteria for reporting on digital health implementations. To ensure the practicality and effectiveness of the checklist, it was pilot-tested by applying it to several real-world digital health implementations, and adjustments were made based on the feedback received. The guiding principle for the development of iCHECK-DH was to identify the minimum set of information needed to comprehensively define a digital health implementation, to support the identification of key factors for success and failure, and to enable others to replicate it in different settings. RESULTS: The result was a 20-item checklist with detailed explanations and examples in this paper. The authors anticipate that widespread adoption will standardize the quality of reporting and, indirectly, improve implementation standards and best practices. CONCLUSIONS: Guidelines for reporting on digital health implementations are important to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of reported information. This allows for meaningful comparison and evaluation of results, transparency, and accountability and informs stakeholder decision-making. i-CHECK-DH facilitates standardization of the way information is collected and reported, improving systematic documentation and knowledge transfer that can lead to the development of more effective digital health interventions and better health outcomes.

Unravelling the knowledge, beliefs, behaviours and concerns of Persons with Haemophilia and their carriers in Senegal.

INTRODUCTION: In many sub-Saharan countries, haemophilia exists in an environment of poor knowledge and poor access to treatment. To improve the quality of life of Persons with Haemophilia (PWH), understanding their unmet needs and the socio-cultural realities is essential. AIM: This study aims to explore disease knowledge, beliefs, behaviours and concerns of PWH and carriers as a way to find adapted solutions to address the unmet needs. METHODS: Based on an interview guide, we performed a qualitative study with in-depth interviews of 26 PWH and 14 carriers. RESULTS: Eighty per cent of adult PWH were able to name the severity of haemophilia, but only 32% could describe with accuracy the mode of transmission of haemophilia. Only 23% of carriers were able to inform the severity of the disease. All carriers and adult PWH acknowledged at least one visit to a traditional healer. Acceptance of the disease through religion is the dominant coping strategy observed. High costs of treatment, fear of social rejection, difficulty of management of pain and bleeding at home were the main concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrate important gaps in knowledge, especially within the carrier population, mothers in Africa playing particularly an important role in the survival and empowerment of PWH. Findings also indicate the important weight of cultural determinants in disease management and behaviours of PWH and thus their important role in the development of educational materials taking into account these determinants.

A New Model for Ranking Schools of Public Health: The Public Health Academic Ranking.

Objectives: As there is no ranking designed for schools of Public Health, the aim of this project was to create one. Methods: To design the Public Health Academic Ranking (PHAR), we used the InCites Benchmarking and Analytics™ software and the Web Of Science™ Core Collection database. We collected bibliometric data on 26 schools of Public Health from each continent, between August and September 2022. We included 11 research indicators/scores, covering four criteria (productivity, quality, accessibility for readers, international collaboration), for the period 2017-2021. For the Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), a network gathering faculties across different universities, a specific methodology was used, with member-specific research queries. Results: The five top schools of the PHAR were: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Public Health Foundation of India, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, SSPH+, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Conclusion: The PHAR allows worldwide bibliometric ordering of schools of Public Health. As this is a pilot project, the results must be taken with caution. This article aims to critically discuss its methodology and future improvements.

The impact of the Ebola epidemics on children's rights: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: The Ebola virus is known as one of the deadliest pathogens to infect humans. Children represent a minority of Ebola Virus Disease cases globally. Yet, the different Ebola outbreaks in Africa had a wide impact on children's lives and children' rights. OBJECTIVE: Review the published literature to date on Children's rights during Ebola outbreaks. Outcomes shall contribute to get a better understanding of the main limitations or violations of children's rights, identify potential gaps in the literature and support the promotion and protection of children's rights for current and future health crisis. METHODS: A scoping review from PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library and Web of Science was performed using PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Articles, reports and editorial, published on Ebola Outbreaks between 1976 and 2020 were retrieved. The UNCRC clusters of rights and treaty specific guidelines were used as a framework. Documents were found through a targeted search of websites from international or regional organisations involved in Ebola crises and children's protection. RESULTS: 48 articles and reports were reviewed. Few documents focused solely on children's rights. Several articles covered the topic of children and Ebola outbreaks. Most of the data are linked to basic health, education, discrimination of orphans and survivors. 31% of the reviewed articles underline the violence against the children (rape, abuse, Female genital mutilations), while 21% focus on the right to education. 23% cover the topic of orphans. Impact on mental health and SRH were amongst the other covered topics. CONCLUSION: A lack of data on children's rights and their violations during epidemics is observed. Regional and international collaboration is needed to document the situation of children in health emergencies. Health measures and strategies based on children's opinions and raising awareness of their crucial role in society is key. Child-centred guidelines should be developed based on these elements.

How mHealth Can Contribute to Improving the Continuum of Care: A Scoping Review Approach to the Case of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Objectives: To determine mHealth's contribution to improving the continuum of care in sub-Saharan Africa towards achieving treatment targets for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) endorsed by the 2016 Political Declaration on ending acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Methods: PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection and Cochrane databases; three observatories and four repositories were searched to identify and select relevant articles, projects and guidelines published from 1 January 2017, to 30 April 2021. Records focusing on the use of mHealth related to HIV treatment cascade or healthcare provider/patient relationship were considered. Results: From 574 identified records, 381 (206 scientific manuscripts and 175 mHealth projects) were considered. After screening, 36 articles (nine randomized control trials, five cohort studies, 19 qualitative studies, and three economic studies) and 23 projects were included. Conclusion: The cross-cutting benefits of mHealth that enhance patient empowerment have been identified. Important challenges such as gaps between research and implementation, lack of transdisciplinary collaboration, and lack of economic evidence were identified to support future mHealth research and accelerate the achievement of treatment targets for HIV.

Risks of Infection with SARS-CoV-2 Due to Contaminated Surfaces: A Scoping Review.

The COVID-19 outbreak is a global health concern. Understanding the transmission modes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is key to limit the spread of the pandemic. A lack of knowledge about the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and infection through contaminated surfaces is noticeable and recent studies have stated conflicting findings. This scoping review aims to understand the risks of contaminations via fomites better. Relevant publications were selected through Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Medline, and Cochrane Library, with related keywords. PRISMA-ScR guidelines were followed. Out of the 565 articles found, exclusion criteria were applied, duplicates removed, and a total of 25 articles were finally included in the study. The included documents were assessed by the contamination risk: "low" (37.5%), "high" (16.7%), "plausible" (8.3%), "unlikely" (8.3%) risk, and "insufficient evidence" (29.2%). Research in hospital settings was found as the main setting in the reviewed papers, which precisely indicated the risk of contaminated surfaces. This scoping review underscores the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection via contaminated surfaces assessed as low in the majority of the reviewed articles. Further evaluation of the risk of the virus transmission by fomites and providing adequate information on its infectivity via contaminated surfaces in real-life conditions is essential.