#HELINA 21



Theme: Leveraging digital health for public health emergencies within routine care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

About the Conference

In October 2021, Uganda Health Informatics Association (UgHIA), in partnership with Makerere University School of Public Health, the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.) Uganda, and HELINA, hosted the 2021 edition of the Pan-African Health informatics Association (HELINA) Conference.

The Conference was a blend of virtual and in-person physical attendance to accommodate those unable to attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event was initially slated to take place between the 26th – 30th October 2020. However, UgHIA, in conjunction with HELINA, changed the conference dates to 18th – 22nd October 2021. Additionally, UgHIA and HELINA also pushed the deadline for submitting research papers to 30th June 2021.

The decision to reschedule the event was informed by public health social measures issued by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), respective country-government Ministries of Health, and the Ugandan Government. This was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic emergence, its continued persistence, and unpredictability in terms of effective control and management.

The measures mentioned above – including travel restrictions and a ban on mass gatherings – directly affected the practicality of UgHIA hosting the Conference on the earlier proposed dates.

Overall, the October 2021 Conference was a success and carried the theme: “Leveraging digital health for public health emergencies within routine care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.”

Guided by this theme, health informatics experts attending the Conference showcased new interventions in the areas of:

  • Maturity models for digital health: Community-level digital health solutions
  • Digital health quality: These include standards, interoperability, ethical, legal and regulatory issues.
  • Open-source software in healthcare delivery
  • eLearning and digital health training for capacity building
  • Remote patient monitoring and care
  • Big data
  • Analytics in public health emergencies with routine care

In addition, several attendees presented original presentations in the below categories:

  • Full research papers
  • Work in progress papers
  • Case study/experience presentations

Theme

Leveraging digital health for public health emergencies within routine care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

#HELINA 21 Virtual Conference

Key information