BackgroundMobile health (mHealth) has been described as a health enabling tool that impacts positively on the health system in terms of improved access, quality and cost of health care. The proposed systematic review will examine the impact of mHealth on health systems by assessing access, quality and cost of health care as indicators.MethodsThe systematic review will include literature from various sources including published and unpublished/grey literature. The databases to be searched include: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, NHS Health Technology Assessment Database and Web of Science. The reference lists of studies will be screened and conference proceedings searched for additional eligible reports. Literature to be included will have mHealth as the primary intervention. Two authors will independently screen the search output, select studies and extract data; discrepancies will be resolved by consensus and discussion with the assistance of the third author.DiscussionThe systematic review will inform policy makers, investors, health professionals, technologists and engineers about the impact of mHealth in strengthening the health system. In particular, it will focus on three metrics to determine whether mHealth strengthens the health system, namely quality of, access to and cost of health care services.Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42015026070 Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-016-0387-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

We assess knowledge development and knowledge diffusion for orthopaedic device innovation in South Africa over the period 2000-2015. A structural network analysis is performed on bibliometric data using co-authorship on scientific publications as an indicator of collaboration between different organisations. We apply a Technological Innovation System (TIS) framework, quantitatively assessing the TIS functions 'knowledge creation' and 'knowledge diffusion' in their spatial and sectoral contexts. Network metrics (degree and betweenness centralities), and empirical TIS analyses are used to describe the knowledge functions of the TIS. Our results show that scientific knowledge development has increased as time has progressed, and that university

Background: Explaining policy change is one of the central tasks of contemporary policy analysis. In this article, we examine the changes in infection control policies for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in South Africa from the time the country made the transition to democracy in 1994, until 2015. We focus on MDR-TB infection control and refer to decentralised management as a form of infection control. Using Kingdon's theoretical framework of policy streams, we explore the temporal ordering of policy framework changes. We also consider the role of research in motivating policy changes.

In upper‐room ultraviolet germicidal irradiance (UVGI) design, irradiance is an important characteristic, with two opposing dominant dynamics: high‐level irradiation on the microorganism and minimum levels of irradiance on human skin and eyes. The use of high‐level ray‐tracing procedures is followed in establishing radiance and irradiance levels. The main constants in a room influencing these calculations are the spectral and spatial characteristics of the radiation sources in the inter‐reflecting surfaces inside the luminaire, as well as the surfaces in the room. The most important characteristic to be determined for the radiation source prior to calculations is its spatial radiant intensity distribution. This characterization is performed using a gonioradiometer. The complexity of the physical construction of the luminaire will determine the extent to which measurements have to be taken. Accurate gonioradiometer readings provide the required radiant intensities in all directions for computer‐aided design (CAD), and can also be used to determine the total radiant flux leaving the luminaire, as well as calculating isoirradiance surfaces around the UVGI luminaire. This study will present a laboratory experimental approach to deriving the radiant intensity distribution of a UVGI luminaire. The UVGI luminaire is then characterized in situ, and compared with the gonioradiometric output.

The response to the challenges arising during the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the rapid implementation of innovative technological solutions which have been built on established knowledge and resources. This has been reflected in infection, prevention and control practices (IPC) to minimise the transmission of the disease. In this article, we review ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) as such a technology. We illustrate the way it has traditionally been used in airborne and surface disinfection strategies, and how it has, more recently, been adapted. UVGI has been widely used as an environmental IPC measure against tuberculosis in South Africa, though challenges have been experienced in the implementation of the technology in public healthcare facilities. This has resulted in the development of a knowledge and infrastructure base. We posit that, given the established UVGI resources in South Africa, the technology may be a viable environmental IPC solution for the COVID-19 period and beyond.