Impact Assessment for Data Network's Rehabilitation. Case of Ecuador

Access to the Internet is necessary to ensure equity for the right to education. However, about 75% of school-age children in rural areas of the world do not have access to the Internet at home. In the Ecuadorian context, only 5.1% of the rural population uses the Internet in public/state schools. Therefore, actions are necessary to reduce the digital gap to improve the quality of education in rural communities in Ecuador. An initiative of IEEE Ecuador, with the support of IEEE SIGHT and the Municipality of Nabón, allowed the rehabilitation of a data network in 40 schools in the Nabón community in 2020. This paper examines the impact of the project, through of the collection of quantitative and qualitative data through stakeholder surveys, to evaluate the impact of data network rehabilitation in the community during the first year of operation. The results show that the Internet in schools has improved the quality of education for students, has allowed children and young people to have access to online education during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has decreased the dropout rate in the benefited schools. The Internet service in schools has also allowed families to save money and entertain themselves. The paper also reports on the evaluation of the social impact of the project, through a Social Return On Investment (SROI) analysis. © 2021 IEEE.

Designing a critical care solution using in-person and telemedicine approaches in the US-Mexico border area during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: UC San Diego Health System (UCSDHS) is the largest academic medical center and integrated care network in US-Mexico border area of California contiguous to the Northern Baja region of Mexico. The COVID-19 pandemic compelled several UCSDHS and local communities to create awareness around best methods to promote regional health in this economically, socially, and politically important border area. PURPOSE: To improve understanding of optimal strategies to execute critical care collaborative programs between academic and community health centers facing public health emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on the experience of UCSDHS and several community hospitals (one US, two Mexican) in the US-Mexico border region. METHODS: After taking several preparatory steps, we developed a two-phase program that included 1) in-person activities to perform needs assessments, hands-on training and education, and morale building and 2) creation of a telemedicine-based (Tele-ICU) service for direct patient management and/or educational coaching experiences.Findings.A clinical and educational program between academic and community border hospitals was feasible, effective, and well received. CONCLUSION: We offer several policy-oriented recommendations steps for academic and community healthcare programs to build educational, collaborative partnerships to address COVID-19 and other cross-cultural, international public health emergencies.