Call for papers: SACJ Special Issue focusing on eHealth

Dr. Nicky Mostert-Phipps, from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa writes to draw your attention to the Call for Papers for a Special Issue of the South African Computer Journal (SACJ – http://sacj.cs.uct.ac.za) focusing on “eHealth: Enabling a long and healthy life for all South Africans”. The deadline for article submission is 12 January, 2015. Download PDF version of Call.

For this special issue on eHealth, the Guest Editors (Nicky Mostert-Phipps, Graham Wright and Anthony Maeder) invite authors to submit articles that focus on the use of ICTs in the promotion, support, and advancement of healthcare in South Africa. Articles will be selected through a double blind peer review process. Please contact any of the guest editors if you would like to clarify the scope of your article before submission.

The South African Department of Health (NDoH) released the country’s first eHealth strategy in 2012 with the aim of supporting the strategic objectives of the NDoH in a way that is comprehensive, pragmatic and innovative. The vision and mission of this strategy is to enable a long and healthy life for all South Africans through the establishment of eHealth as an integral part of the transformation and improvement of healthcare services in South Africa [1]. eHealth is broadly defined as the use of various Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for health [2]. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of ICTs for conducting research, treating patients, educating the workforce, tracking diseases, monitoring public health, and so forth. This broad domain includes fields such as telemedicine, mHealth, consumer health informatics, electronic medical record systems, health information systems, and so forth.

Articles must follow the SACJ formatting guidelines available at: http://sacj.cs.uct.ac.za/index.php/sacj/about/submissions#authorGuidelines

Final articles should be uploaded via the SACJ Journal website at http://sacj.cs.uct.ac.za/ (follow link from home page for ‘Submit Paper’).

Deadlines

Article submissions due: 12 January 2015.
Review outcomes: Communicated to authors by 28 February 2015.
Final articles due: 16 March 2015.
Publication of this eHealth special issue is planned for June 2015.

About SACJ

The South African Computer Journal is an official publication of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists, and is accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training. It is an open access journal, meaning reading an article is free of charge. Information related to publication charges are available at http://sacj.cs.uct.ac.za/index.php/sacj/announcement/view/3

Guest Editors

Nicky Mostert-Phipps, School of Information and Communication Technology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa (nicky.mostert@nmmu.ac.za)
Graham Wright, Centre for Health Informatics Research and Development, University of Fort Hare, South Africa (profwright@gmail.com)
Anthony Maeder, School of Computing, Engineering, and Mathematics, University of Western Sydney, Australia (A.Maeder@uws.edu.au)

References

[1] National Department of Health, “eHealth Stategy South Africa, 2012 – 2017”, National Department of Health, 2012.
[2] World Health Organization, “eHealth”, [Online]. Available: http://www.who.int/topics/ehealth/en/. [Accessed 29 August 2014].

Health Informatics South Africa (HISA) 2013 Conference: Programme Available

The Health Informatics South Africa Conference (HISA 2013) will be held in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on 3 – 5 July 2013.  See the conference website (http://hisa.nmmu.ac.za) for further information. The progamme is online at http://hisa.nmmu.ac.za/Programme

This is a South African Health Informatics Association (SAHIA) event hosted by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). The theme is Empowering patients and healthcare professionals with information and technologies.

Pre-conference workshop on capacity building for eHealth in South Africa: 2 July 2013  E-mail Dr Nicky Mostert-Phipps (nicky.mostert[at]nmmu.ac.za) before Monday, 24 June 2013 to register for this free workshop.

There are still various opportunities for sponsorship /exhibition available. Please contact Prof Dalenca Pottas (Dalenca.pottas[at]nmmu.ac.za) for further information.

Second Call – Health Informatics South Africa (HISA) 2013 Conference: Submissions Close 22 April

HISA 2013 Scientific Programme Committee Chair, Dr Nicky Mostert-Phipps (nicky.mostert[at]nmmu.ac.za), announces that the South African Computer Journal, the official journal of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists and accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training, will invite submission of the best papers from the conference, based on recommendations from the scientific programme committee. These papers will be reviewed to the journal’s standards, and must contain at least 30% additional material. Reviewing for the journal will be expedited to ensure publication of papers that do not require substantial changes in a special edition of SACJ in July 2013. SACJ is an open access journal with no cost for readers, enhancing your chances of being read and cited. To cover publication costs, the journal levies an open access charge, which can be waived for authors unable to fund such charges (usually met by university research offices, based on expected income from subsidized publications).

The South African Health Informatics Association (SAHIA – http://www.sahia.org.za) are pleased to announce their HISA 2013 conference. Full information is on the conference website – http://hisa.nmmu.ac.za  Or download the PDF file : [Second Call PDF, 528kb]

The closing date for submissions is 22 April, 2013. (Notification of acceptance/rejection by end of May.)

Registration dates:
Early bird registration closes on 31 March 2013
Standard registration: 1 April 2013 – 31 May 2013
Late registration: 1 June 2013 – 2 July 2013

HISA 2013 will be held on 03-05 July 2013 at the NMMU North Campus Conference Centre in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The School of ICT from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University will host the conference, which will take place at the University’s conference center facilities in Summerstrand.

The conference theme will be “Empowering patients and healthcare professionals with information and technologies”. The conference website (http://hisa.nmmu.ac.za) has full information.

The conference will be organized around the following major tracks:

• Health Information, Systems and Technologies
• e-Health in Africa
• Medical Imaging Informatics
• Nursing Informatics
• Telemedicine and m-Health

Submissions will be welcome in the form of peer-reviewed research papers, case studies, panels and workshops. Details of the Call and submission templates are at http://hisa.nmmu.ac.za/Call-for-Submissions

For more information, contact Prof Dalenca Pottas , Chair: Local Organizing Committee (dalenca.pottas[at]nmmu.ac.za) or Dr Nicky Mostert-Phipps, Chair: Scientific Programme Committee (nicky.mostert[at]nmmu.ac.za).

Health Informatics South Africa (HISA) 2013 Conference: Submissions Close 22 April

The South African Health Informatics Association (SAHIA – http://www.sahia.org.za) are pleased to announce that their HISA 2013 conference.

Full information is on the conference website – http://hisa.nmmu.ac.za The closing date for submissions is 22 April, 2013. [Call PDF; 57kb]

HISA 2013 will be held on 03-05 July 2013 at the NMMU North Campus Conference Centre in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The School of ICT from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University will host the conference, which will take place at the University’s conference center facilities in Summerstrand.

The conference theme will be “Empowering patients and healthcare professionals with information and technologies”. The conference website (http://hisa.nmmu.ac.za) has full information.

The conference will be organized around the following major tracks:

• Health Information, Systems and Technologies
• e-Health in Africa
• Medical Imaging Informatics
• Nursing Informatics
• Telemedicine and m-Health

Submissions will be welcome in the form of peer-reviewed research papers, case studies, panels and workshops. Details of the Call and submission templates are at http://hisa.nmmu.ac.za/Call-for-Submissions

For more information, contact Prof Dalenca Pottas , Chair: Local Organizing Committee (dalenca.pottas[at]nmmu.ac.za) or Dr Nicky Mostert-Phipps, Chair: Scientific Programme Committee (nicky.mostert[at]nmmu.ac.za).

HISA 2013 Conference: Port Elizabeth, South Africa; 03-05 July, 2013

The South African Health Informatics Association (SAHIA – http://www.sahia.org.za) are pleased to announce that their HISA 2013 conference will be held on 03-05 July 2013 at the NMMU North Campus Conference Centre in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) will be hosting the event.

The conference theme will be “Empowering patients and healthcare professionals with information and technologies”. The conference website (http://hisa.nmmu.ac.za) will go live on Monday, 21 January 2013. Registration will open and the call for submissions will go out on the same day. Submissions in the form of research papers, case study presentations, posters, and workshops will be invited.

The conference will be organized around the following major tracks:

• Health Information, Systems and Technologies
• e-Health in Africa
• Medical Imaging Informatics
• Nursing Informatics
• Telemedicine and m-Health

For more information, contact Prof Dalenca Pottas , Chair: Local Organizing Committee (dalenca.pottas[at]nmmu.ac.za) or Dr Nicky Mostert-Phipps, Chair: Scientific Programme Committee (nicky.mostert[at]nmmu.ac.za).

Sedick Isaacs Has Passed Away (Update)

It is with deep regret that we inform you that Sedick Isaacs passed away on October 18th, at the age of 72 after a short illness.

Many of you will remember Sedick well, and that we awarded him IMIA Honorary fellowship at the Cape Town GA in recognition of all his contributions. Sedick was a driving force behind the development of health informatics in South Africa, in Africa though HELINA, and internationally – in addition to the contributions and sacrifices he made for the freedom of his country, especially during the time he was imprisoned on Robben Island.

Dr. Ghislain Kouematchoua, IMIA Vice President for HELINA, writes that “Dr. Isaacs was HELINA’s founding President and very strongly contributed to the development of Health Informatics in Africa. His work for the development of Health Informatics in Africa is highly acknowledged by the International Medical Informatics Association and many African Societies for Health Informatics.”

HELINA have opened an online condolences book via their website, which also contains a short biography of Sedick – see http://www.helina-online.org/

See also http://www.vocfm.co.za/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=tag&tag=Prof+Dr+Sedick+Isaacs&Itemid=131 for information about Sedick.

Also: http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/tributes-pour-in-for-struggle-veteran-1.1406807

If you have personal memories of Sedick that you wish us to add here, or to add to formal condolences we send to his family on behalf of IMIA and the international community, please send them to imia@imia-services.org

L: Sedick with Ghislain at Medinfo2010 in Cape Town – R: Sedick at Robben Island Gateway, Sept, 2010.

Inaugural Professorial Lecture, Prof. Graham Wright, WSU, South Africa

Prof. Graham Wright (past UK representative to IMIA and IMIA-NI, and past Chair of the IMIA Open Source Working Group) delivered his inaugural professorial lecture at the Mthatha Health Resource Centre (Walter Sisulu University, and Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital), Mthatha, South Africa on 25 July, 2012. Graham is Research Champion and Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Eastern Cape, South Africa. His topic was “Developing health informatics as a new scientific discipline”. Attendees as special invited guests included Dr Peter Murray, IMIA CEO; Dr Lyn Hanmer, IMIA Secretary; Brenda Faye, IMIA Virtual Office Support Co-ordinator; many of Graham’s WSU health informatics graduates; and representatives of WSU.

A downloadable PDF version of the lecture is available here (3MB).

The video-presentation of the lecture is now available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7emfO2oR9s

Some Short News Items: Miscellany

August issue of the WHO Bulletin

The August 2012 issue of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization is now available at http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/90/8/en/index.html

The Bulletin is available in a variety of different formats, including on electronic publishing devices, Kindle readers and as a Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) digital talking book. Abstracts and other items are available in عربي‎, 中文, Français, Русский and Español. The DAISY digital format assists people who have challenges using regular printed media. DAISY digital talking books offer the benefits of regular audiobooks, but also include navigation. For more information about Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) digital talking book, see http://www.daisy.org

Among content highlights:

EDITORIAL   Trans-disciplinary research to improve health systems’ disaster readiness and response – Samantha Watson et al. doi: 10.2471/BLT.12.106120

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW   A systematic review of Demographic and Health Surveys: data availability and utilization for research – Madeleine Short Fabic et al. doi: 10.2471/BLT.11.095513

PERSPECTIVES   The role of biomedical engineering in disaster management in resource-limited settings – Andrea Fernandes & Muhammad H Zaman doi: 10.2471/BLT.12.104901

An informatics agenda for public health: summarized recommendations from the 2011 AMIA PHI Conference

AMIA announces that this publication (by Barbara L Massoudi, Kenneth W Goodman, Ivan J Gotham, John H Holmes, Lisa Lang, Kathleen Miner, David D Potenziani, Janise Richards, Anne M Turner, Paul C Fu) is now online, freely accessible on the JAMIA website. PHI 2011 convened dedicated individuals to work together on a shared vision to take public health to the next level of critical development through Public Health Informatics. Nationally known experts gathered to focus on key areas of public health informatics including ethics, technical frameworks, professional training and workforce development, research and evaluation and sustainability. Participants revisited the national agenda developed at the AMIA Spring Congress in 2001, assessed the progress that has been made in the past decade, and developed recommendations to further guide the field. Participants identified 62 recommendations. See the article on the JAMIA website.

 

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Health Informatics, South Africa

The Institute for ICT Advancement, School of ICT, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa is seeking suitable candidates for a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Health Informatics.

Position: An important reason for the failure of Health Information Technology (HIT) solutions is that the original design does not reflect the work practices and social relations amongst its users. This also leads to low utilization levels of ‘‘successful’’ HITs, which means that the solution is not utilized meaningfully. This has been shown to be inherent to the complex nature of the healthcare environment.

This fellowship is focused on improving adoption and meaningful use of Health Information Technology (HIT) solutions, with special emphasis on Home-Based Healthcare (HBHC).

Candidates with an information technology background, but strong interest/experience in health informatics are encouraged to apply. Candidates with a nursing (or other relevant) background, but a strong interest in HITs, can also apply.

Research: The research will be conducted together with students in the Health Informatics research group within the School of ICT (www.nmmu.ac.za/sict).

The postdoctoral researcher will be expected to contribute significantly to:

a. The publication of research outputs from current and previous projects;
b. Daily supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate student projects;
c. Strengthening of collaboration with partners (eg healthcare providers); and
d. Conducting and leading fieldwork at a local NGO (specifically in the HBHC context).

Requirements: A Ph.D. Information Technology/Nursing Informatics/Medical Informatics or other relevant field, obtained within the past five years, with a strong background and/or interest in health information technologies (HITs).

Applications: A covering letter and curriculum vitae, including all research outputs and experience should be sent to Prof Dalenca Pottas in electronic format at e-mail: dalenca[at]nmmu.ac.za.

Posting information courtesy of Prof. Graham Wright, Research Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa.

HISA 2011 Conference; SAHIA on Twitter

HISA 2011, the conference of the South African Health Informatics Association (SAHIA – www.sahia.org.za), will be held on 29-30 August, 2011 at the Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa. Full information is available through the conference website at http://www.hisa.co.za/

The theme of this year’s event is “Affordable information for quality health care – In search of sustainable innovation in Health Information Technology”. Registration for the event is now open.

Johann Odendaal, SAHIA President, invites your attendance. HISA2011, he says aims to “build on the huge success of Medinfo 2010 which was held in Cape Town in September 2010 … We invite all our colleagues in South Africa and across the African Continent in the areas of nursing, clinical care, dentistry, pharmacy, public health and (bio)medical research to join us at HISA 2011 and celebrate our successes and learn about the rapid advances in technology and the benefits to our industry.”

Twitter users can follow now SAHIA – @SAHIAssociation (http://twitter.com/SAHIAssociation)