@article{5cc4dbd0fb654c50b25590bf3b1ddcb3,
title = "Building capacity and training for digital health: Challenges and opportunities in Latin America",
abstract = "Tackling global health challenges demands the appropriate use of available technologies. Although digital health could significantly improve health care access, use, quality, and outcomes, realizing this possibility requires personnel trained in digital health. There is growing evidence of the benefits of digital health for improving the performance of health systems and outcomes in developed countries. However, significant gaps remain in resource-constrained settings. Technological and socio-cultural disparities between different regions or between provinces within the same country are prevalent. Rural areas, where the promise and need are highest, are particularly deprived. In Latin America, there is an unmet need for training and building the capacity of professionals in digital health. This viewpoint paper aims to present a selection of experiences in building digital health capacity in Latin America to illustrate a series of challenges and opportunities for strengthening digital health training programs in resource-constrained environments. These describe how a successful digital health ecosystem for Latin America requires culturally relevant and collaborative research and training programs in digital health. These programs should be responsive to the needs of all relevant regional stakeholders, including government agencies, non-governmental organizations, industry, academic or research entities, professional societies, and communities. This paper highlights the role that collaborative partnerships can play in sharing resources, experiences, and lessons learned between countries to optimize training and research opportunities in Latin America.",
keywords = "Capacity building, Digital health, Education, Latin America, Peru, Public health, Telehealth, Training program",
author = "Curioso, {Walter H.}",
note = "Funding Information: In 1999, the AMAUTA Global Training in Health Informatics program was developed to train Peruvian health care professionals in the application of informatics to health [37]. This collaborative program was an institutional partnership that involved Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, and the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, with the support of the Fogarty International Center and the National Institutes of Health. The AMAUTA program achieved considerable success in the development and institution of informatics research and training programs in Peru [37]. Courses and projects supported by the AMAUTA program led to the development of sustainable training opportunities for biomedical informatics in Peru [38] and contributed to their development in other low-and middle-income countries. Funding Information: AMIA: American Medical Informatics Association CYTED-RITMOS: The Ibero-American Network of Mobile Technology and Health eGCC: e-Government Cooperation Center eHealth: electronic health GPP: Global Partnership Program HIMSS: Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society HL7 LATAM: Health Level Seven Latin America ICD: International Classification of Diseases IMIA: International Medical Informatics Association IMIA-LAC: Federation of Health Informatics for Latin America and the Caribbean ITGH: Informatics Training for Global Health mHealth: mobile health PAHO: Pan American Health Organization RECAINSA: The Central American Health Informatics Network RELACSIS: The Latin American and Caribbean Network for Strengthening Health Information Systems WHO: World Health Organization Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Walter H Curioso.",
year = "2019",
month = dec,
day = "1",
doi = "10.2196/16513",
language = "American English",
volume = "21",
journal = "Journal of Medical Internet Research",
issn = "1439-4456",
publisher = "JMIR Publications Inc.",
number = "12",
}