dc.contributor.author |
Diero, Lameck |
|
dc.contributor.author |
Rotich, Joseph K |
|
dc.contributor.author |
Bii, John |
|
dc.contributor.author |
Mamlin, Burke W |
|
dc.contributor.author |
Einterz, Robert M |
|
dc.contributor.author |
Kalamai, Irene Z |
|
dc.contributor.author |
Tierney, William M |
|
dc.date.accessioned |
2020-02-17T07:30:32Z |
|
dc.date.available |
2020-02-17T07:30:32Z |
|
dc.date.issued |
2006-04-10 |
|
dc.identifier.uri |
http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/2738 |
|
dc.description.abstract |
Background:
Clinical research can be facilitated by
the use of informatics tools. We used an
existing electronic medica
l record (EMR) system and personal data assistants (PDAs) to assess the
characteristics and outcomes of patients with acut
e respiratory illnesses (ARIs) visiting a Kenyan
rural health center.
Methods:
We modified the existing EMR to include
details on patients with ARIs. The EMR
database was then used to identi
fy patients with ARIs who were
prospectively followed up by a
research assistant wh
o rode a bicycle to patients' home
s and entered data into a PDA.
Results:
A total of 2986 clinic visits for 2009 adul
t patients with respiratory infections were
registered in the database between August 2002
and January 2005; 433 patients were selected for
outcome assessments. These patients
were followed up in the vill
ages and assessed at 7 and 30 days
later. Complete follow-up data
were obtained on 381 patients (88%) and merged with data from
the enrollment visit's electronic
medical records and subsequent
health center visits to assess
duration of illness and complica
tions. Symptoms improved at 7 and 30 days, but a substantial
minority of patients had
persistent symptoms. Eleven
percent of patients sought additional care for
their respiratory infection.
Conclusion:
EMRs and PDA are useful to
ols for performing prospecti
ve clinical research in
resource constrained
developing countries. |
en_US |
dc.language.iso |
en |
en_US |
dc.publisher |
BioMed Central Ltd. |
en_US |
dc.subject |
Computer-Based Medical Record System |
en_US |
dc.subject |
Personal digital assistants |
en_US |
dc.title |
A computer-based medical record system and personal digital assistants to assess and follow pa tients with respiratory tract infections visiting a rural Kenyan health centre |
en_US |
dc.type |
Article |
en_US |