Author: Meesha Patel

Digital health In settings of extreme adversity: improving quality of care for vulnerable populations

Improving the quality of healthcare delivery is a major priority around the world. However, the barriers to improving healthcare quality can vary significantly by context, environment, and population. In settings such as conflict-affected areas or areas of sustained humanitarian crisis, challenges to improving healthcare quality can be extremely complex. In this blog, the term settings of extreme adversity is used to describe these areas, but other terms such as fragile and conflict-affected and vulnerable states, have also been used in research. This blog is written by Olivia Lounsbury, Quality and Safety Programme Co-ordinator, John Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Using pulse oximetry to monitor COVID-19 patients at home

The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was riddled with clinical uncertainty. Technologies which could be used to monitor patients at home such as pulse oximeters were widely adopted by patients. But how safe is it to use a pulse oximeter at home when you have COVID-19? In this blog, we share IGHI’s experiences of being part of the COVID-19 Oximetry at Home Programme. This blog was written by Meesha Patel (Communications and Events Officer, IGHI) and Dr Ahmed Alboksmaty (former Research Associate, IGHI).

Turning up: increasing cervical cancer screening uptake

How do you remember your health appointments? Do you set a reminder on your phone, or wait for a health care provider to send a text? When invited for cancer screening do you book right away, or ignore it or forget as it makes you anxious, or as you have too much else going on?

These are some of the questions Dr Gaby Judah, a psychologist working on behaviour change at the Patient Safety Translational Research Centre at the Institute of Global Health Innovation, considers in her research to encourage people to attend their NHS cancer screening appointments.

Give me space: how our co-designed face masks can help vulnerable people feel safer

Earlier in the pandemic, around 5% of Northwest Londoners were considered clinically extremely vulnerable and advised to ‘shield’. Although the shielding programme has ended, with the vaccination programme helping to lower people’s risk of becoming seriously ill, many are still avoiding social contact to continue to protect themselves, particularly as new variants continue to circulate.

Although all legal restrictions have ended in the UK, protective measures such as face mask wearing are still considered important to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable groups. Charities have urged the population to continue to perform these behaviours to keep those at risk safe, while also allowing them to reconnect with society.