[Health] OLPC Health Projects

Tue Aug 18 16:59:15 EDT 2009

Hello, I hope Kirsten will be able to contribute her lessons learned,
but just wanted to report that I did finally follow through on a
previous post to this thread and got OpenMRS running on an OLPC XO
under Ubuntu (Sara King's report from her Kenya trip helped keep that
on my to-do list)

Ubuntu instructions
-- http://www.olpcnews.com/forum/index.php?topic=4053.0%3Bwap2
-- this is the key bit, google for this URL to find other mentions of
this build: http://mars.illtel.denver.co.us/~abelits/software/olpc/

OpenMRS instructions (used a smattering of stuff from each)
-- http://openmrs.org/wiki/Step-by-Step_Installation_Guide_for_Ubuntu_8.10_for_Developers
-- http://openmrs.org/wiki/Installation_Guide_for_Ubuntu
-- http://forum.openmrs.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=208
-- http://openmrs.org/wiki/Overriding_OpenMRS_Default_Properties

OpenMRS modules
-- http://modules.openmrs.org/modules/list.jsp

really, if you download OpenMRS from SVN and follow the instructions
it should build for Red Hat based distros, like OLPC's Sugar, as well
(assuming you install all the Java stuf and google around to make sure
you have all the correct paths and such for Red Hat)

If your primary goal is a stand-alone medical record system, the OLPC
XO seems to be a little slow to run the OpenMRS java-based server and
a memory-heavy graphical client like firefox on the same machine
(here's a snapshot load average with just the server running and
occasional queries: 6.88, 6.68, 5.47). Now that I've got OpenMRS up
and running though, I'll probably move the server to a faster ubuntu
machine and start getting into the weeds some more. I think OpenMRS
could definitely run well as a stand-alone solution on a more powerful
netbook, and maybe still on the XO if only I can figure out how to get
X11 out of the picture.

Niels Olson
niels.olson at gmail.com
h/c: (410) 212-1281
http://nielsolson.us

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On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 10:31 AM,
DancesWithCars<danceswithcars at gmail.com> wrote:
> This also might be good case study for the book sprint
> in early September, Washington DC just before
> and including the 9/11 anniversary aka National
> Day of Service or similar...
>
> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Class_Acts
>
> dwc
>
> On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 9:38 AM, Samuel Klein<meta.sj at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hello Kirsten,
>>
>> How did this project go over the summer?  What tools did you end up
>> using?  I'd be interested in seeing such a program tried out with XOs,
>> and in hearing more about your ideas for how to represent (and
>> gather?) health information.
>>
>> SJ
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 11:44 PM, Kirsten Austad<keaustad at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>>     I have been on the OLPC health list before, but to reintroduce I am a
>>> first year at HMS.  This summer I and another student will be working with
>>> the PIH-affiliated program in Chiapas, specifically with the health
>>> promoters who have asked for an easier way to use clinical algorithms for
>>> diagnosis and treatment of common disease (already designed by a
>>> physician).  Presenting these medical flow charts on paper is often
>>> confusing due to the overwhelmingness of all the information on the page at
>>> once, so we will be spending this summer looking at whether some sort of
>>> technology could be used to make the clinical algorithms easier to use for
>>> the health promoters.
>>>
>>>      The director of our project Dr. Palazuelos has been working with groups
>>> who are using PDAs for similar projects, but there are some worries about
>>> the utility and sustainability of PDAs in rural Chiapas (power source,
>>> durability, etc.).   In thinking about how to get around these problems, we
>>> thought of OLPCs whose design seems perfect for what the PDAs lack.
>>>
>>>     I was wondering who we could potentially speak to about this issue and
>>> whether OLPCs are allowed to, or have ever been used for, this sort of
>>> "off-label" purpose.  Of course these are just preliminary ideas that we had
>>> and wanted to check in about and brainstorm this as a potential solution, or
>>> to see whether it could take us in a productive direction.  Any guidance
>>> would be much appreciate, thanks so much for your time,
>>>
>>> ~Kirsten
>>>
>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>> Kirsten Austad
>>> MD Candidate, Harvard Medical School, Class of 2012
>>> BS, Medical Microbiology & Immunology and English Literature, University of
>>> Wisconsin-Madison, 2007
>>> cell: 608-209-1001
>>> e-mail: Kirsten_Austad at hms.harvard.edu or keaustad at gmail.com
>>>
>>> "We should not go to the people and say, 'Here we are. We come to give you
>>> the charity of our presence, to teach you our science, to show you your
>>> errors, your lack of culture, your ignorance of elementary things.' We
>>> should go instead with an inquiring mind and a humble spirit to learn at
>>> that great source of wisdom that is the people."   - Che Guevara
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 7:29 PM, Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Dear Kirsten  and Julia,
>>>>
>>>> There have been enough health related discussions and projects to
>>>> warrant its own discussion list, and occasional meetings by phone and
>>>> in person.  You should start with that list -- copied here.
>>>>
>>>> SJ
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 3:05 PM, Kirsten Austad <keaustad at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> > Hi Mika and SJ,
>>>> >
>>>> >     Ben, thanks so much for putting us in touch!  I am adding another
>>>> > person
>>>> > to the conversation, one of my classmates Julia who was extensive global
>>>> > health experience and worked with the Partners in Health program in
>>>> > Rwanda
>>>> > and has lived in various places in the Americas.  We were talking about
>>>> > the
>>>> > possibilities today of utilizing OLPC for global health, and are both
>>>> > very
>>>> > excited.  We would love to meet with either or both of you--Mika and
>>>> > SJ--to
>>>> > discuss what you guys have thought about in the health applications of
>>>> > OLPC,
>>>> > what Julia and I have been brainstorming, and if there is someway for us
>>>> > to
>>>> > get invovled (both here in the U.S. or on-site).
>>>> >
>>>> >     We are at the Longwood Medical Campus near the Brigham, but can
>>>> > travel
>>>> > over to Cambridge if that is where both of you are based.  Our schedules
>>>> > are
>>>> > variable at this time due to Anatomy Lab, but if you two want to throw
>>>> > some
>>>> > days and times out there we can surely find one that works.  Looking
>>>> > forward
>>>> > to it!
>>>> >
>>>> > ~Kirsten
>>>> >
>>>> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>> > Kirsten Austad
>>>> > MD Candidate, Harvard Medical School, Class of 2012
>>>> > BS, Medical Microbiology & Immunology and English Literature, University
>>>> > of
>>>> > Wisconsin-Madison, 2007
>>>> > cell: 608-209-1001
>>>> > e-mail: Kirsten_Austad at hms.harvard.edu or keaustad at gmail.com
>>>> >
>>>> > "We should not go to the people and say, 'Here we are. We come to give
>>>> > you
>>>> > the charity of our presence, to teach you our science, to show you your
>>>> > errors, your lack of culture, your ignorance of elementary things.' We
>>>> > should go instead with an inquiring mind and a humble spirit to learn at
>>>> > that great source of wisdom that is the people."   - Che Guevara
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> > On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 2:19 PM, Benjamin M. Schwartz
>>>> > <bmschwar at fas.harvard.edu> wrote:
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Kirsten,
>>>> >>
>>>> >> I am writing to introduce you to Mika and SJ.  Mika is an MPH (?)
>>>> >> student
>>>> >> at HSPH. SJ is OLPC's "Director of Content" or something.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Kirsten is an MD student at HMS.  She has experience working in clinics
>>>> >> and in education in Ghana and the Dominican Republic, and is interested
>>>> >> in
>>>> >> doing curriculum design and evaluation with OLPC.  She has a travel
>>>> >> grant
>>>> >> through HMS (?) that she could use to travel to a deployment,
>>>> >> implement,
>>>> >> and evaluate such a curriculum... and that's just the beginning.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Mika wrote her MPH thesis on an ethical approach to determining which
>>>> >> medicines are "essential" in developing countries.  She has become one
>>>> >> of
>>>> >> the organizing leaders of the OLPC health projects.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> SJ is OLPC's "Director of Content" or something like that.  He is
>>>> >> responsible for OLPC's curriculum projects, and can definitely put you
>>>> >> in
>>>> >> touch with the right people in the right countries.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Some resources to be aware of:
>>>> >> As of today, it is possible to buy an XO in the US for $400, $200 of
>>>> >> which
>>>> >> is a tax-deductible charitable donation (not that grad students
>>>> >> typically
>>>> >> itemize deductions...).  Info about that program is available at
>>>> >> http://www.amazon.com/xo
>>>> >>
>>>> >> If you think you need an XO for an OLPC-related project, but can't
>>>> >> afford
>>>> >> to buy one, you can apply to the Contributors program at
>>>> >> http://projectdb.olpc.at/index.php?register=1.  (For curriculum
>>>> >> development, you probably don't actually need an XO.)
>>>> >>
>>>> >> The OLPC Health wiki pages are at http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Health.
>>>> >> There's a great deal of information there, but it is terribly
>>>> >> disorganized, and since it's a public wiki its contents reflect the
>>>> >> priorities of many different authors.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> There is a mailing list for OLPC health-related discussion at
>>>> >> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health.  That's a good place to ask
>>>> >> questions, though you're also welcome to ask any of us directly.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> That's all for now, I think.  Welcome to OLPC!
>>>> >>
>>>> >> --Ben
>>>> >>
>>>> >>
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
>
>
> --
> DancesWithCars
> leave the wolves behind ;-)
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