Objectives: To conduct a critical appraisal of peer reviewed articles on the effectiveness of telemedicine on stigmatization and treatment burden in patients with health compromising lifestyles and chronic diseases.Methods: This study critically appraised peer-reviewed article on the effectiveness of telemedicine on stigmatization and treatment burden in patients with health compromising lifestyles and chronic diseases. Treatments included e-health interventions, information and communication technologies used in health care, internet-based interventions for diagnosis and treatments that encouraged collaborative care for patients with chronic diseases.  This paper critically appraised the full text of each relevant peer-reviewed article adapting the Occupational Therapy Critically Appraised Topics (CATs) template while using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine- Levels of Evidence (2011) model to assess for best evidence or quality. Results: Initial internet search using Psychinformation; PubMed; Medline; ProQuest; CINAHL; OT seeker and the Cochrane Library generated over 1450 titles/abstracts. Following abstract appraisal, 30 articles were selected for full text assessment. Five of the final articles selected for this critical appraisal alluded to the effectiveness of telemedicine in reducing the treatment burden of stigmatization on patients with chronic diseases. Majority of the appraised articles indicated the effectiveness of telemedicine in changing behaviours.Conclusions: All the appraised articles alluded to the effectiveness of telemedicine in curbing some of the treatment burdens of stigmatization for patients with health compromising lifestyles and chronic diseases. However, it is evident that the use of other intervention methods such as government policy, public education and patient empowerment in conjunction with telemedicine would better reduce the effect of stigmatization and facilitate the medical interventions for patients with chronic diseases.

Trends such as the aging population, long wait times, rising costs, and labour shortages in health professions are notable challenges facing the sustainability of Medicare in Canada. Healthcare reform, especially in primary care, will ensure efficiency and equitable access to healthcare in. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as electronic health records (EHRs) will play a pivotal role in reforming and sustaining Medicare. EHRs make healthcare safer, cost efficient and more integrated, and are necessary for the wider application of ICTs in the health sector. EHRs enhance decision-making capabilities for both providers and patients, especially in managing chronic diseases. Notwithstanding the numerous advantages of EHRs, Canada is slow to adopt a nation-wide EHR system. This paper analyzed existing data to establish the factors that may help to accelerate the national implementation of electronic health records in Canada. It defined EHRs, discussed their advantages and disadvantages, and barriers to its full application. Also, it explored key strategies for accelerating EHR initiatives in Canada, and suggested action plans and time frames for doing so.

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At independence in 1960, the colonial rule in Nigeria transformed into neo-colonialism. Nigeria gained political sovereignty through a negotiated settlement that has retained and maintained economic, commercial, and intellectual ties with the ex-colonial administrators and other western nations. Agriculture, which was the economic focus of the colonial administration took a back seat once oil was discovered in commercial quantity in present day Bayelsa state after several failed attempts dating back to 1913. As oil became the main economic attraction in the post-colonial rule, it had various implications for the political economy of Nigeria. Despite attempts to pursue agriculture as a colonial heritage and for the benefit of Nigerians, the discovery of oil in 1956 and the oil boom in the 1970s laid the foundation for Nigeria's dependence on oil as the primary source of its GDP. Using secondary sources and insight from our previous fieldwork in the Niger Delta region, the main argument in this paper is that, imperialism perpetuated the exploitation of agricultural products while its legacy, neo-colonialism has preserved the exploitation of crude oil to the detriments of other economic ventures and the Nigerian masses. Therefore, we posit that the transformation of colonialism into neo-colonialism in Nigeria has resulted in desperation for Nigerians as this arrangement gives power without responsibility and exploitation without redress.

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