What are the best practices for measuring and improving health outcomes in low-resource settings?

Health outcomes can also be defined as the measurable effects of healthcare interventions or public health policies on people's health. Health outcomes can also be measured in terms of: Health behaviors - refer to behaviors that promote or detract from good health, such as smoking, exercise, and healthy eating. Healthcare utilization: This refers to the use of healthcare services, including hospitalization rates, emergency department visits, and outpatient visits. We can also assess factors that facilitate healthcare utilization and how our interventions can improve this. Further, by measuring changes in health outcomes over time, researchers and policymakers can make informed decisions about resource allocation and program design.

Measuring and improving health outcomes in low-resource settings is a complex and challenging task. There are many factors that affect the quality and accessibility of health care, such as poverty, infrastructure, governance, and disease burden. - Developing and implementing evidence-based interventions that are based on scientific research and proven to be effective in improving health outcomes in similar settings. Examples of evidence-based interventions are immunization, antenatal care, insecticide-treated bed nets, and community health workers. - Building partnerships and collaborations with other sectors, such as education, water, sanitation, agriculture, and environment, to address the interrelated factors that affect health outcomes.

The World Heath Organization indicators of a public health system failure are average lifespan, infant and material mortality. COVID is the number one killer of humans in the world outpacing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. But what is being ignored by the men with power and money is the abuse and neglect of girls, mothers, and children. Until our politicians and oligarchs address Maternal and Women’s Health, we will experience a global economic crisis that will literally change the biological composition of the world.

Treatment plans can't be algorithmic. Patients are constrained by resources ( time and money). These factors lie behind what we call “non - compliance” in medicine. Understand your patient before prescribing a therapy

Engaging experts and specialists in public health, epidemiology and other social sciences is key to answering the right questions with the right data. Accessing local, regional and national data on poverty, education levels, socioeconomic segregation and patient-led access to primary and secondary care will deliver interesting and possibly unexpected insights on healthcare trends. The well documented North-South divide in the UK is a great example of how health can differ vastly depending on social determinants, within a country considered high-income.

Environmental factors which affect your health may be depression or substance abuse and this can lead to to poverty, poor nutrition,risky health conditions.Genetics, as well as personal history, diet, lifestyle changes yet many of us don't consider one of the biggest factors : Mental Health

Healthcare systems may consider implementing a computerized. Clinical Decision Support System(CDSS) to deliver patient-centric recommendations relating to best care practices. Most CDSS systems can be integrated with electronic health record systems. Kouri et al. (2021) advise that provider uptake challenges in CDSS can be addressed by identifying the contextual and implementation factors associated with uptake before evaluating technology solutions. Kouri, Andrew, et al. "Do providers use computerized clinical decision support systems? A systematic review and meta-regression of clinical decision support uptake." Implementation Science 17.1 (2022): 21.

Local stakeholders such as community leaders, healthcare providers, and government officials can provide valuable insights into the local context and help ensure that interventions are culturally appropriate and sustainable. This is especially important when assessing culturally-sensitive topics like family planning and contraception or immunization in some societies.