Browsing by Author "Singh, Neha S."

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    Avoiding the road to nowhere: Policy insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health
    (John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2022) LeFevre, Amnesty; Chamberlain, Sara; Singh, Neha S.; Scott, Kerry; Menon, Purnima
    The Principles for Digital Development, launched in 2017, outline 9 items to consider in designing digital health programs to mitigate predictable and preventable factors contributing to program failure (Principles for Digital Development 2020). These items include design with the user, understanding the existing ecosystem, scale design, building for sustainability, being data-driven, using open standards/data/source/ innovation, reuse, and improvement, addressing privacy and security, and being collaborative. This commentary has sought to be more specific than the broader principles and give a range of examples to provide a clearer path to action. As researchers and implementers, we draw on experiences of designing, implementing, and evaluating digital health solutions at a scale in several settings across Asia and Africa, while providing examples from India and South Africa to illustrate ten considerations to support the scale and sustainability of digital health solutions in LMICs. These can be categorized as (1) drivers of equity and unforeseen innovation; (2) foundations for a digital health ecosystem; and(3) elements for systems integration as detailed in Figure
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    A forgotten group during humanitarian crises: a systematic review of sexual and reproductive health interventions for young people including adolescents in humanitarian settings
    (Conflict and Health, 2019) Jennings, Lauren; George, Asha S.; Jacobs, Tanya; Blanchet, Karl; Singh, Neha S.
    Background: Young people including adolescents face barriers to healthcare and increased risk of poor sexual and reproductive health (SRH), which are exacerbated in humanitarian settings. Our systematic review assessed the evidence on SRH interventions for young people including adolescents in humanitarian settings, strategies to increase their utilisation and their effects on health outcomes. Methods: We searched peer-reviewed and grey literature published between 1980 and 2018 using search terms for adolescents, young people, humanitarian crises in low- and middle- income countries and SRH in four databases and relevant websites. We analysed literature matching pre-defined inclusion criteria using narrative synthesis methodology, and appraised for study quality. Findings: We found nine peer-reviewed and five grey literature articles, the majority published post-2012 and mostly high- or medium-quality, focusing on prevention of unintended pregnancies, HIV/STIs, maternal and newborn health, and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence. We found no studies on prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), safe abortion, post-abortion care, urogenital fistulae or female genital mutilation (FGM). Thirteen studies reported positive effects on outcomes (majority were positive changes in knowledge and attitudes), seven studies reported no effects in some SRH outcomes measured, and one study reported a decrease in number of new and repeat FP clients. Strategies to increase intervention utilisation by young people include adolescent-friendly spaces, peer workers, school-based activities, and involving young people.
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    A forgotten group during humanitarian crises: A systematic review of sexual and reproductive health interventions for young people including adolescents in humanitarian settings
    (Conflict and Health, 2019) Jennings, Lauren; George, Asha S.; Jacobs, Tanya; Blanchet, Karl; Singh, Neha S.
    Background: Young people including adolescents face barriers to healthcare and increased risk of poor sexual and reproductive health (SRH), which are exacerbated in humanitarian settings. Our systematic review assessed the evidence on SRH interventions for young people including adolescents in humanitarian settings, strategies to increase their utilisation and their effects on health outcomes. Methods: We searched peer-reviewed and grey literature published between 1980 and 2018 using search terms for adolescents, young people, humanitarian crises in low- and middle- income countries and SRH in four databases and relevant websites. We analysed literature matching pre-defined inclusion criteria using narrative synthesis methodology, and appraised for study quality. Findings: We found nine peer-reviewed and five grey literature articles, the majority published post-2012 and mostly high- or medium-quality, focusing on prevention of unintended pregnancies, HIV/STIs, maternal and newborn health, and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence. We found no studies on prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), safe abortion, post-abortion care, urogenital fistulae or female genital mutilation (FGM). Thirteen studies reported positive effects on outcomes (majority were positive changes in knowledge and attitudes), seven studies reported no effects in some SRH outcomes measured, and one study reported a decrease in number of new and repeat FP clients. Strategies to increase intervention utilisation by young people include adolescent-friendly spaces, peer workers, school-based activities, and involving young people.