Pulse oximetry March 2009 (PDF 650 KB). A presentation outlining the application of pulse oximetry in clinical practice.
WHO oxygen therapy (PDF 1.3MEG). This 1993 review of oxygen therapy for children with acute respiratory infection in developing countries offers an overview of the historical basis for continuous oxygen therapy, the clinical indications its initiation, and a brief outline of oxygen equipment.
Pulse_oximetry-technology_to_reduce_childhood_mort A review of pulse oximetry, and its applications in the medical management of childhood illnesses (Published in Annals of Tropical Paediatrics).
Review of hypoxaemia in childhood illness.pdf A review of the prevalence of hypoxaemia in childhood illnesses, with empahsis on pneumonia and neonatal conditions (published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases).
Review of the clinical predictors of hypoxaemia. A systematic review of the accuracy of clinical signs in predicting hypoxaemia in children, completed as part of the International Child Health Review Collaboration (ICHRC) to summarize the evidence base for current WHO recommendations. Published in the Journal of Tropical Pediatrics.
When should oxygen be given to children at high altitude? A systematic review to define-altitude specific hypoxaemia. Published in Archives of Disease in Childhood (access via ICHRC website, 'Supportive Care' section)

Technical resources

Oxygen Assessment December 2006 (PDF 200 KB) A WHO assessment tool for the evaluation of oxygen systems in children's wards.
Suitability of oxygen concentrator models for use as the primary souce of oxygen in hospital wards
ISO standards 8359 - oxygen concentrators (PDF 123) a summary of the International Organization for Standardization standards for oxygen concentrators for medical use.

Neonatal care

Neonatal care minimal standards (PDF 39KB)

Neonatal Care Minimal Standards Policy Document (P DF 32KB)

An outline of a set of 'minimal standards' for improving in-hospital neonatal care and survival. These were implemented and evaluated in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, where a 44% reduction of in-hospital neonatal mortality was recorded.

EXTERNAL LINKS

International Child Health Review Collaboration
Royal Children's Hospital
MCRI
University of Melbourne
WHO
Infant and Young Child Nutrition Project - Information, news, and resources on improving nutrition from pregnancy through the first two years of life
St Mary's Juba Link - a partnership between St Mary's Hospital on the Isle of Wight, and Juba Teaching Hospital, Southern Sudan
UNICEF
GAVI
VicHealth
PneumoCarr

RESEARCH INSTITUTES INVOLVED IN INTERNATIONAL CHILD HEALTH

Kenya Medical Research Institute
http://www.kemri.org/

Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research
http://www.pngimr.org.pg

The MRC Unit, The Gambia
www.mrc.gm/

Medical College, Blantyre, Malawi
http://www.medcol.mw/

ICDDRB, Bangladesh
http://www.icddrb.org/

Vancouver Centre for International Child Health
http://www.bcchildrens.ca/Professionals/CtrInternationalChildHealth/default.htm

Great Ormond Street University College London Centre for International Health & Development
http://www.ich.ucl.ac.uk/ich/academicunits/cihd/Homepage

International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France

http://www.iuatld.org

GLOBAL PUBLICATIONS

UN Convention of the Rights of the Child
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm

UNICEF State of the Worlds Children
http://www.unicef.org/sowc09/

Millennium Development Goals
http://www.developmentgoals.org/Child_Mortality.htm

WHO Child and adolescent health and development

WHO / UNICEF Regional Child Survival Strategy
http://www.wpro.who.int/publications/PUB_9290610875.htm

World Development Report, 2008
www.worldbank.org/wdr2008

World Health Report, 2008
http://www.who.int/whr/2008/en/index.html

BOOKS

Pocket book of hospital care for children: Guidelines for the management of common illnesses with limited resources. World Health Organization, Geneva 2005
WHO Pocket Book of Hospital care for children

Teaching Aids at Low Cost (TALC). A UK based charity established in 1965 to provide low cost technical resources to developing countries. An excellent website now with extensive materials available.
http://www.talcuk.org/

Management of the Child with a serious infection or severe malnutrition: guidelines for management at a district hospital. WHO/FCH/CAH/00.1
Management of the child with a serious infection or severe malnutrition

Morley D. Paediatric Priorities in the Developing World, Butterworth, London 1973. A classic text which is still relevant today.

King M. (ed) Medical Care in Developing Countries. Oxford University Press, 1966. Another classic text, a monograph from a very early symposium on health in developing countries at the University of Makerere in Uganda.

Shann F, Biddulph J, Vince J. Paediatrics for Doctors in Papua New Guinea. 2003 Ed. 2. An excellent resource for clinical care in hospitals in developing countries.

Standard Treatment for Common Childhood Illnesses in Papua New Guinea. 8^th Edition 2005. Probably the worlds longest running clinical guidelines from developing countries; continually published and updated by the Paediatric Society of PNG for over 30 years.

Coovadia HN and Wittenberg DF. Paediatrics and Child Health: a manual for health professions in developing countries. Oxford University Press, Cape Town. 2003.

Parrey E, Godfrey R, Mabey D, Gill G. Principles of Medicine in Africa. 3^rd Edition, Cambridge University 2004

Duke T. Child Health in a Global Context. In Practical Paediatrics. Roberton & South (Eds) 6^th Edition. 2007. Churchill Livingston.

Collier P. The Bottom Billion. Oxford University Press. 2007

Surgical Care at the District Hospital.

JOURNALS

The Lancet

Bulletin of the WHO

Tropical Medicine & International Health

Annals of Tropical Paediatrics

Journal of Tropical Paediatrics

Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition

Papua New Guinea Medical Journal

Southern Sudan Medical Bulletin

COURSES IN INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH OR TROPICAL MEDICINE

Monash University in conjunction with the Burnet Centre runs a Masters in Public Health with an International Health stream and a Post-Graduate Diploma in International Health.
Burnet Institute: Centre for International Health

The University of Melbourne has a Masters of Public Health course with an International Health Stream coordinated by the Australian International Health Institute. AIHI runs a 5 day International Child Health course, in November each year.
http://www.aihi.unimelb.edu.au/

Curtin University of Technology Centre for International Health, WA, Australia
http://www.curtin.edu.au Curtin offer postgraduate diploma in International Health, Master of International Health and a Doctor of International Health.

London School of Tropical Medicine, UK
http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/

The London School carries out research, teaching, training and consultancy in the fields of public health and tropical medicine. It is an international institution with research and collaborations in 120 countries, teaching in London and worldwide through distance learning, students from 105 countries, alumni working in 140 countries and staff from 37 countries

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK. Offers a variety of postgraduate courses in tropical medicine, infectious diseases, clinical training.
http://www.liv.ac.uk/lstm/

Karolinska Institute: Infectious Disease in Developing Countries, Sweden. Runs comprehensive courses in tropical medicine (DTM), infectious diseases, international health under their World Health postgraduate program.
http://www.phs.ki.se/ihcar/

Gorgas Memorial Institute of Tropical & Preventative Medicine http://www.gorgas.org University of Alabama in Birmingham, given in Peru at Instituo de Medicina Tropical. The Gorgas Institute runs a course in clinical tropical medicine in Feb-April. Cost is about $US5000.

Jamkhed Comprehensive Rural Health Project, India
www.jamkhed.org

The Jamkhed centre is a renowned institution for training in primary health care in the Maharashtra state of India that has been conducting courses in comprehensive rural health care for over 10 years. They have a Diploma course lasting 3 months, and student course lasting one month. The Australian International Health Institute takes students to Jamkhed for a one-month course over summer. These can be credited towards a Masters subject within University of Melbourne, or used as an initial experience in primary health care delivery in low-income settings.

SEMINARS

http://www.ichseminar.com/

The Centre for International Child Health and Médecins Sans Frontières Australia are hosting a one-day seminar on international child health on February 5th 2010.

International Child Health: Tackling the Big Killers of Children in Resource-Poor Settings aims to share the experiences of those working in international child health, to stimulate debate and create networks among health professionals.

This free, one-day seminar invites doctors, nurses, midwives and organisations with interest in child health in developing countries to contribute to a greater knowledge in this field and improved clinical and public health practice in resource-limited settings.

EMPLOYMENT

Websites which advertise positions vacant for doctors and nurses in developing countries

Medicine Sans Frontiers
http://www.msf.org/

MSF recruits a variety of health professionals for relief or development work in overseas countries. The people predominantly recruited by MSF are general practitioners, nurses, surgeons, anaesthetists and specialists in such areas as tropical medicine, public health and epidemiology. The average duration of appointment is 6 months.

Australian Volunteers International
http://www.australianvolunteers.com/

AVI is Australia's largest international volunteer sending agency. They recruit hundreds of Australians each year to work in developing countries. Most assignments are for 2 years.

Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO)
Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO)

This is a site that is sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics that posts vacancies for volunteer positions in developing countries, usually of short-term duration for a specified purpose. It has an excellent bibliography of references.

World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/employment/en/

EXAMPLES OF PATHWAYS TO INTERNATIONAL HEALTH

Government health services

NGOs (MSF, UNICEF, Save the Children, local)

Developing country universities

Bilateral government aid agencies (AusAID)

Multi-lateral agencies (WHO, UN, agencies such as UNICEF)

Research institutes (MRC Gambia, KEMRI, IMR PNG)

Volunteer organizations (AVI, missions)

Mission hospitals

Collaborative Institutes of International Health (CICH Melbourne, London School of Tropical Medicine)

Last Updated 28-Sep-2009. Authorised by: Professor Kim Mulholland. Enquiries: Amanda O'Brien.