IRES: A US-Cameroon Collaboration for Information Technology in Healthcare (E-Medicine) Research in Resource-Poor Contexts

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。巴吞鲁日南方大学的维克托姆巴里卡教授将指导这项研究和教育计划。在为期三年的夏季和冬季休息期间，Mbarika博士和共同主要研究员卡洛斯托马斯博士将在南方大学、喀麦隆的两所大学-布埃亚大学和雅温得大学医学院（一所教学医院）之间建立教育伙伴关系。将从南方大学1挑选两名本科生和两名研究生，并从喀麦隆的两所院校挑选相同人数的学生。这些学生将合作开发和出版电子医疗案例研究，这些案例研究将与多媒体功能打包，并通过互联网和光盘提供，用于在美国和非洲的课堂上教授全球电子卫生问题。近年来，学生们参与了国际研究，根据收集的数据，但学生们从未参与过这些项目的案例研究。在研究和以前资助的研究的概念证明的基础上，将制定严格的理论驱动的个案研究，在喀麦隆实施emedicine。拟议的项目将培养信息技术专业的学生，使他们对如何在发展中国家资源贫乏的环境中实施这些技术具有全球视野。这些经验将用于正在进行的美国农村地区的emedicine实施项目，创造一个反向（南到北）的知识转移。此外，这将使研究人员从发展中国家目前对电子医疗转移的了解中解脱出来，而以前PI主要集中在从远处调查多个项目。他现在将能够研究具体的电子医疗项目，以获得更深入的知识的主题域。更广泛的影响：拟议的项目将提供一个更深入的了解电子医疗在资源匮乏的社区在发展中国家和发达国家。通过这一合作编写的案例研究将被包装成多媒体光盘，并在互联网上发布，供世界任何地方的课堂使用。该项目产生的出版物，包括一本关于资源贫乏环境中全球电子保健问题的书，可用于信息技术课程。当地专业人员和准专业人员将利用案例研究产生的教材和工具接受培训，以更好地装备他们，最大限度地利用电子医疗技术。专业人员和准专业人员可以从案例研究中获得信息，不仅解决影响他们支持和参与电子医疗服务的恐惧和关切，而且改进和改善他们的电子医疗方法。促进跨文化合作研究，为全球问题提供解决方案，将有助于培养富有成效的世界公民和可持续未来的贡献者。目前的多媒体案例研究合作将允许在美国20个不同的机构更广泛地传播这些IRES案例。此外，PI？与多媒体教育资源的学习和在线教学（MERLOT），一个NSF资助的项目，将提供一个平台，甚至更多的传播机会，在多个学科社区的组织。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Professor Victor Mbarika of Southern University, Baton Rouge will direct this research and educational program. During the summer and winter breaks of its three year duration; the Dr. Mbarika and Co-PI, Dr. Carlos Thomas, will establish an educational partnership between Southern University, two Universities in Cameroon--The University of Buea and The University of Yaounde Medical School (a teaching hospital). Two undergraduate and two graduate students will be selected from Southern University1 and the same number will be selected from two institutions in Cameroon. These students will collaborate in developing and publishing e-medicine case studies that will be packaged with multimedia features and delivered through the Internet and CDs for teaching Global E-Health issues in US and African classes.Intellectual Merit: In recent years, students have been involved in international research that has led to multiple conference and journal publications based on data collected, but students have never involved in developing case studies on these projects. Based on research and proof of concept from previously funded research, rigorous theory-driven case studies on emedicine implementation in Cameroon will be developed. The proposed project will develop information technology students with a global perspective on how such technologies are implemented in resourcepoor settings of developing nations. These experiences will be used on ongoing projects on emedicine implementation in rural parts of the US, creating a reverse (South to North) knowledge transfer. Further, this will move the researchers from current knowledge on e-medicine transfer in developing nations whereby previously the PI had largely focused on surveying multiple projects from afar. He will now be able to study specific e-medicine projects to gain a more intimate knowledge of the subject domain.Broader Impacts: The proposed project will provide a deeper understanding of e-medicine in resource-poor communities in developing and developed nations. The case studies developed through this collaboration will be packaged in multimedia CDs as well as on the Internet for use in classes anywhere in the world. Publications resulting from this project, including a book on global e-health issues in resourcepoor settings could be used in information technology courses. Local professionals and paraprofessionals will be trained using the teaching materials and tools generated by the case studies to better equip them to maximize their use of technology in e-Medicine. Professionals and para-professionals can will information from the case studies to not only address fears and concerns affecting their support and participation in e-medicine service delivery, but also to refine and improve their approaches to emedicine. Facilitating collaborative cross cultural research to generate solutions to global problems will help create productive world citizens and contributors to a sustainable future. Current multimedia case study collaborations will allow for broader dissemination of these IRES cases at 20 different institutions in the US. Furthermore, the PI?s strong affiliation with Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching, (MERLOT) an NSF funded project, will provide a platform for even more dissemination opportunities across multiple discipline communities of the organization.