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Jennifer Weinberg, Steven Kaddu, Gerald Gabler, Carrie Kovarik. The African Teledermatology Project: Providing access to dermatologic care and education in sub-Saharan Africa. The Pan African Medical Journal. 2009;3:16 Key words: telemedicine, teleconsultation, education, dermatology, sub-Saharan Africa Permanent link: http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/3/16/full Received: 09/10/2009 - Accepted: 31/10/2009 - Published: 18/11/2009 © Jennifer Weinberg et al. The Pan African Medical Journal - ISSN 1937-8688. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
The African Teledermatology Project: Providing access to dermatologic care and education in sub-Saharan Africa
Jennifer Weinberg1, Steven Kaddu2, Gerald Gabler3, Carrie Kovarik1,&
1Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, Austria, 3Department of IT and Telecommunications, Graz University Clinics and General Hospital, Austria
& Corresponding author
Carrie Kovarik, MD, Assistant Professor of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, 3600 Spruce Street, 2 Maloney Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104. Phone: 215-662-2737; Fax: 215-349 5615
Background
Telemedicine allows health providers in remote areas to transfer information for medical consultation anywhere in the world and serves to support local health workers through discussion and access to pertinent educational materials. Many developing nations have a dire shortage of doctors and other health resources. Therefore, affordable, easy-to-use technologies are imperative for providing care and much needed educational opportunities as well as reducing the limitations imposed by scarce resources.
Methods
To identify the current extent of the Africa Teledermatology Project and key areas for improvements, an analysis of all consultations received to date was completed.
Result
Between February 2007 and February 2009, 345 consultations from sites in thirteen Sub-Saharan African nations were received and processed via the project website. Although a wide range of mucocutaneous conditions were seen, the most frequent diagnoses included adverse drug reactions, atopic dermatitis and eczema, cutaneous infections, psoriasis and HIV/AIDS-related cutaneous diseases. Educational materials were designed to target these conditions.
Conclusion
This research supports the value of store-and-forward teledermatology services for facilitating access to assistance in the diagnosis and management of cutaneous disease and increasing access to educational materials. The work demonstrates the feasibility and usefulness for a teledermatology network such as the African Teldermatology Project in improving the provision of care for skin diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, this technology can be seen as a practical and effective manner to distribute information to local health workers with the hope of significantly improving their ability to recognize, diagnose and treat cutaneous conditions.
