Kevin Zam

Of course, there are big differences between rural and urban health in Myanmar.
Access and quality of care are much better in urban areas where most health facilities, specialists, equipment, and trained professionals are located. In contrast, rural areas have far fewer facilities, long travel distances, poor transport, fewer skilled staff, and…[Read more]

Thanks Ma Wah for your insightful discussion.
Corruption is everywhere and the sad thing about it is that no one is tackling the root of corruption and seems to tackle only the branches.

Are you aware of the health workforce situation in Myanmar? Can you share with your peers and Can you suggest what can be done to improve the situation?
Yes. Myanmar is facing a serious health workforce crisis. Many doctors, nurses, and health workers have left the public system due to insecurity, low pay, limited training opportunities, and…[Read more]

Good things about using EMR in Myanmar
Saves time: Staff can find patient records quickly without searching through many paper cards.
Less duplication: Patients often lose record booklets. EMR reduces repeated registrations and repeated data.
Better information access: Patient history, treatment plans, and lab results can be easily…[Read more]

Coping With Big Health Data Challenges

1. Missing Data
Accept that missing data are common due to paper records, displacement, and weak follow-up.
Define minimum essential data for key programs (NCDs, TB, MCH).
Use simple methods always and apply complex, multiple imputation, and mixed models only when needed.
Improve data collection using…[Read more]

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3. Significant result (P ≤ 0.05)
A P value ≤ 0.05 does not mean the test hypothesis is false. It only means the data would be unlikely if the hypothesis and all assumptions were true. The small P value could be due to chance, random error, or problems with the assumptions. It simply shows that the observed difference would hap…[Read more]

My personal view on the four actions to fight corruption is as below.

1. Convene stakeholders and talk openly about corruption
Agree. Corruption cannot be reduced if it is not acknowledged. In Myanmar, open discussion is difficult, so health workers, especially junior staff, need support and protection to speak safely.

2. Prioritize actions with…[Read more]

One example of health system improvement in Myanmar is strengthening Primary Health Care (PHC) in rural areas by improving the capacity of Basic Health Staff (BHS) such as health assistants and midwives. This includes training BHS to provide integrated services (maternal and child health, nutrition, immunization, TB and malaria), improving…[Read more]

Hello classmates,
I am Zam Lian Kham and you can call me Kevin. I had academic background of M.B.,B.S and Master of Arts in Community Development. I am mostly working in humanitarian and public health organization and in these sectors, I have to conduct multiple analyses and assessments using both quantitative and qualitative research methods.…[Read more]

Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)
Procedures to Include in the DRP
a. Risk Assessment
Identify possible problems: power failure, fire, theft, cyberattacks, natural disasters.
Decide which systems are most important for daily work.
b. Backup Procedures
Back up important data every day (emails, finance, HR, shared folders).
Keep one backup in the office…[Read more]

Many developing countries, including Myanmar, still face similar health challenges.
One big problem is the lack of money to build and maintain good health systems initially and in current situation with collapse of USAID, the funding of public health is more scarce and difficult.
Many hospitals and clinics also do not have trained staff who know…[Read more]

When we implement the High Availablity technology in hospital information system (HIS),
Benefits for Patients
1. No delays in care — the system is always working, so doctors can access your records anytime.
2. Faster service — shorter waiting time for tests, results, and treatment.
3. Safer treatment — less chance of mistakes because infor…[Read more]

During my time as a Field Coordinator of WHO with the National AIDS Program, our team observed that the existing HIV/TB reporting indicators were unclear and often caused confusion for staff in the field. This challenge prompted me to engage with program coordinators in Central Myanmar to review and revise the indicators. Over the course of three…[Read more]

Thanks Soe Wai Yan for sharing your personal experiences on breaching of confidentiality and Thanks God for your friend didn’t do any damage to your email.

Yes, I experienced a situation where Availability was affected in a health system strengthening project in Myanmar.

What happened?
As the internet connection in some townships of Myanmar was cut off due to conflicts/politics, our reporting system could not be accessed by teams from those townships.

How did it affect the system or users?
Field…[Read more]

To have effective communication in my team, I focus on three things:
Be open: I encourage everyone to share their ideas and feelings freely. I listen carefully and make sure all voices are heard.
Be honest: I speak clearly and truthfully, even when the topic is difficult. I also expect others to do the same.
Be respectful: I respect different…[Read more]

Throughout a decade of my career, I had overcome many professional challenges. While I worked for the Chin State Health Department in Myanmar to improve the health system, one of my jobs was to draft state health plan of Chin State including voices from the lowest level of the health system, the Rural Health Centers. During that time, it was…[Read more]

Hello Nang Phyoe Thiri,
Thanks for your interest in data interoperability. As fellow Myanmar, we might need initial survey and analysis on what data standard and system are using by our service providers in our countries. According to my knowledge, the government hospital part might not be a problem while the involvement of different data system…[Read more]

Dear Sirithep,
I agree with Salin that you might need further explanation on how active surveillance will be implemented. For the case definition, it is quite challenging to narrow down to RSV among other respiratory illnesses of COVID 19 and flu too that you might need to increase your data accuracy somehow to work efficiently. Thanks for…[Read more]

Hello Salin,
Very interesting surveillance system with (11.6 M) 17.5% of Thailand’s population (71.7 M) affected and 160,000 dialysis cases in 2023.
As the case definition is by laboratory test and highly technical one, I think this CKDSS cannot be used for general public right?