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Informatics Education in Low-Resource Settings

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Informatics Education in Healthcare

Part of the book series: Health Informatics ((HI))

Abstract

Developing countries have the burden of acute and chronic diseases with the greatest health disparities. There is also a shortfall of more than four million healthcare workers worldwide, and the proportion is higher in less economically viable countries where the lack of proper trained healthcare workers is also compromised by the migration and departure of skilled personnel together with a frail infrastructure and a shortage of resources that cannot provide a proper scenario for an adequate healthcare system that will fulfill the population needs. The need for both technology infrastructure and individuals who have the skills to develop these systems is great, but so are the challenges in developing the needed workforce who are well-trained in informatics. This chapter describes the current informatics education efforts in three regions: Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. The description of specific healthcare informatics education programs, the educational methods used and the challenges encountered are explored.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Informatics, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Peron 4190, Buenos Aires, 1199, Argentina

    Paula D. Otero MD

  2. Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, Geneva University School of Medicine, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1211, Switzerland

    Caroline Perrin MSc & Antoine Geissbuhler MD, FACMI

  3. Department of Health Informatics, Hong Kong Hospital Authority, Argyle St., Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Ngai-Tseung Cheung MBBS, BSc (Med), MSc (Comp Sci), DIC

  4. Informatics Division, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, 270 Rama VI Road, Toong Phaya Thai, Ratchathewi, Salaya, Nachon Pathom, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand

    Nawanan Theera-Ampornpunt MD, PhD

  5. Department of Information Systems, School of Computing, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Kwok Chan Lun PhD

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  1. Paula D. Otero MD
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  2. Caroline Perrin MSc
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  3. Antoine Geissbuhler MD, FACMI
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  4. Ngai-Tseung Cheung MBBS, BSc (Med), MSc (Comp Sci), DIC
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  5. Nawanan Theera-Ampornpunt MD, PhD
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  6. Kwok Chan Lun PhD
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Correspondence to Paula D. Otero MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham,, Department of Health Services Administration, School of Health Professions, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

    Eta S. Berner

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Otero, P.D., Perrin, C., Geissbuhler, A., Cheung, NT., Theera-Ampornpunt, N., Lun, K.C. (2014). Informatics Education in Low-Resource Settings. In: Berner, E. (eds) Informatics Education in Healthcare. Health Informatics. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4078-8_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4078-8_14

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