Sopheab's Web

WHO 6 buidling blocks of health system

2010-12-06T19:37:00.000-08:00

Today I want to share about the 6 building blocks of the effective health system developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is not a new concept but I want to share who are not familiar with it and maybe it can be a forum to stimulate the discussion it in the Cambodia context. I summarize it along with the link for those interested in reading the detail.

They are the followings:

• A good health service delivery with quality and effectiveness
• A well-performing health workforce (sufficient numbers and mix of staff, fairly distributed, competent, responsive and productive)
• A well-functioning health information
• A well-functioning health system to ensures equitable access to essential medical products, vaccines and technologies with quality
• A good health systems financing (for pro poor)
• Governance and leadership ensuring strategic policy frameworks existed and paying attention to system-design, and accountability.

http://www.wpro.who.int/sites/hsd/hsd_framework.htm

My first book published by Lambert academic publishing

2010-11-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

Hi colleagues and friends, I just want to share my happy time with you all about my book published by the Lambert Academic Publishing. Here is the link and the editorial reviews about the book.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/3843365563/?tag=bmed-20

Product Description
Cambodia is one of the few countries in the world to achieve the MDG in reversing the spread of HIV, with the prevalence falling from 3% in 1998 to 0.7% in 2008. The decline indicates a high commitment from government and civil society in the fight against HIV. The book highlights the success in multiple interventions and challenges facing over the course of the epidemic. The work is based on different studies conducted over the course of preventive interventions from 2002 to 2005 to investigate the epidemiological context of the epidemic, and how this is related to changes in risk behaviours in the general population and in sub-groups of the population. Results from this work suggest an optimistic future in HIV control and prevention in Cambodia. However, challenges do remain, including the reliable quality of HIV/STI service deliveries, the sustainability of preventive programmes, and the dependency of heavily external funding supports. This book should be useful for students and professionals in public health especially for program planners and researchers, or anyone who may be interested in the development of HIV prevention and control in developing countries.

About the Author
received his MD degree in Cambodia (1994), MPH degree (2001) from the University of Washington, USA, and PhD degree (2009) from the Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, Norway. Currently, he is a Director of Strategic Information Department of Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance (KHANA) in Cambodia.

Sharing an experience in writing a peer reviewed paper

2010-11-21T20:18:00.000-08:00

Starting to write a research paper is always difficult for most of us particularly for writers who are not the English native speakers. Writing the paper needs to be focused, concise and logically order. It is a time consuming with high level of commitment and patience. Generally, a content of the paper consists of Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRAD). However, you can start with whatever part of the paper you feel comfortable to write. From my experience, I always start with the Results. First, you should develop tables and figures from analysis outputs. This will make you easy to further write the rest of the findings. Then you just add few sentences or paragraphs that are not included in the tables. Introduction and Methods, to some extents you already have had developed in your research proposal. Therefore, your task is to modify and revise these parts to fit into your paper. The hardest part is the Discussions. This is where you have to explain what the findings mean and must be guided by your research question. As an outline, you should first summarize your main findings followed by discussing them with references to previous research [1]. A limitation of the study should be discussed such as sampling issue and bias. Finally you should discuss on the program or policy implication based on your results.

Keep in mind that you should feel free to write down whatever you can think of if you do not have any ideas to start with. References must be cited properly. My suggestion is to read few similar published papers to get ideas how other authors structured their papers. The research paper usually goes through several drafts before it is finalized. From my experience, revising a manuscript more than 10 to 15 times with your supervisor and co-authors is common before it is finally submitted to the intended journal.

1. Penerger TV, Hudelson PM. Writing a research article: advice to beginners. Intl J Qual Health Care 2004; 16:191-192

*Next time I will post some useful resources for academic writing. I hope you will find it useful. Please share your ideas and comments.

My home-made noodle

2008-10-11T05:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

These days I come to my blog less often. Still, I try to post something as possible as I can. Today I just want to share with you my fast and easy-made lunch during my stay at Bergen. Does it look tasty?

Do you believe the career test?

2008-08-09T01:28:00.000-07:00

I tried the career quiz few weeks ago at the Princeton review website. I found it interesting and fun. You can try what career is suitable for you by going to the site at http://www.princetonreview.com/CareerQuiz.aspx

Do you believe the career test? Below was the result of my test.

My interest color is: Yellow
“People with yellow Interests like job responsibilities that include organizing, systematizing, and professions that are detail-oriented, predictable and objective. People with yellow Interests enjoy activities that include: ordering, numbering, scheduling, systematizing, preserving, maintaining, measuring, specifying details, and archiving, which often lead to work in research, banking, accounting, systems analysis, tax law, finance, government work, and engineering.”

My usual style is: Yellow
“People with yellow styles perform their job responsibilities in a manner that is orderly and planned to meet a known schedule. They prefer to work where things get done with a minimum of interpretation and unexpected change. People with a yellow style tend to be orderly, cautious, structured, loyal, systematic, solitary, methodical, and organized, and usually thrive in a research-oriented, predictable, established, controlled, measurable, orderly environment. You will want to choose a work environment or career path in which your style is welcomed and produces results.”

I am back to my web again!

2008-07-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

It has really been so long the last time I wrote something in my blogger. Today I feel that I have to edit my web and write something after a long silence. Few postings are removed to make this web cleaner.

Hello friends, these days I am still working on my dissertation. It is more than half way through. It means that I am closer to the end of the journey of "Thousand miles of journey start from the first step". I Will come back again soon.

A long break at home!

2006-07-21T01:48:00.000-07:00

Hi friends and colleagues! I don't know how to restart my blog after a long break without a single touch to it. It has been about 3 months since I left Norway! At home, many things are around me both from workplace, from school, from personal business at home, family...all these things make me busy leaving me no good space to get back to my favorite web blog.

I feel relax today in the office to go through some of my friends'blog and then think of my own blog. It is a time that I should write something for it. Now I am half way through my holiday as well as my fieldwork at home in Phnom Penh. I willl have a trip to Totonto AIDS Coference soon in mid August as part of my academic requierment before heading to my school again in October. Life is like this!

A Fantastic Math!

2006-03-03T06:09:00.000-08:00

For this weekend, I would dedicate this joke to friends, colleagues and viewers. In order to understand this joke, high school mathematics is needed! Please enjoy it and have a nice weekend. Forwarded to me by Cong Thanh Duong, CHI.

Thoughts about eating patterns in Cambodia

2006-02-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

In Cambodia recently, burgers, French fries with high fat and other kinds of fast foods have become popular among youth and middle class people in cities. Though they are a bit expensive in the Cambodia context, eating burgers and French fries MAY BE a sign of modernity for youth and affordability for middle class people in the era of change in socio-economic development.

However, it should be noted that there is a reversed phenomenon in developed countries (US, Europe). Fast food associated with high fat is convenient and cheap for poor and people with low income. Therefore, these people are more likely to be obese compared with higher income individuals due to high fat associated food diet.

In the US, researchers found that there was a link between obesity and those with lower incomes and less education. But in Cambodia, I guess there will be a link between overweight, obesity and high income! I want to test this hypothesis hehe. Here, we still do not mention about the current practice of use of hazardous chemical substances in food products that lead to the unexpected harm to people’s health.

It has been shown that the spread of overweight and obesity is hitting not only the high income countries but also the middle and low income countries alike. This phenomenon creates a so called "a double burden of disease”. It means that in developing country such as Cambodia, in cities we find an increase trends of diseases associated with overweight and obesity such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, while in rural areas, we find high rate of malnutrition and infectious diseases.

Globalization: A threat or an opportunity for developing countries?

2006-02-05T05:37:00.000-08:00

Globalization is the increased integration of economies and societies in the world. Recently, this word has been one of the hot topics for debates. Some view it positively- a key point of future world economic development- but others especially developing countries view it negatively because they believe it increases inequality between nations and threaten employment and living standard. The gap between the rich and the poor countries has become even wider! Four aspects of globalization are free trade, capital movements, people movements (Migration and Brain Drain), and spread of knowledge and technology. Click IMF site for furthermore information.

A joke: Philosophy of life

2006-01-30T23:46:00.000-08:00

A philosophy professor stood before her class and had some items in front of her. When the class began, silently she picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks. She then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. She shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. She then asked the students again if the jar was full. They again agreed it was. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. Now, said the professor, I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical check-ups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

But then... A student then took the jar which the other students and the professor agreed was full, and proceeded to pour in a glass of beer. Of course the beer filled the remaining spaces within the jar making the jar truly full.

The moral of this tale is that no matter how full your life is, there is always room for BEER.

Source: http://www.lotsofjokes.com

Where does Cambodia rank in the world?

2006-01-29T11:55:00.000-08:00

In the world, there were 177 countries in the Report of the Human Development issued by the UNDP in 2005. What indicators experts used to measure the human development of countries in the world? In principles, THREE main indicators: INCOME (GDP per capita), HEALTH (life expectancy at birth), and EDUCATION (adult literacy and school enrollment). These three indicators are called Human Development Index (HDI) representing average achievement of each country.

Cambodia ranked 130 with the GDP per capita 2078 $ (international $: int’l $), a little bit better than Laos that ranked 133 among 177 countries. Norway ranked the top with the GDP per capita 37670$ ( int’l $), USA ranked 10 with GDP per capita 37562$ (int’l$). Last 25 countries from the bottom were African countries in which Niger was the last in the row among 177 countries. Click for Human Development Report 2005

Int’l $: is a way to compare standard of living across countries using conversion factor for GDP (PPP: purchasing power parity) to eliminate differences in national price level. The simple example to understand is that 1US$ in the US is different from 1 US$ in Cambodia or developing countries in terms of buying the same item.

Food of thoughts for the weekend!

2006-01-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

Our communication Wireless Our business Cashless Our telephone Cordless
Our cooking Fireless Our youth Jobless Our religion Creedless
Our food Tasteless Our faith Godless Our labor Effortless
Our conduct Worthless Our relation Loveless Our attitude Careless
Our feelings Heartless Our politics Shameless Our education Valueless
Our arguments Baseless Our commitment Aimless Our lives Meaningless
Our bosses Hopeless Our salary Very Very Less!!!

Ms. Hanifa's note, CIH

Here, we mind about the daily weather!

2006-01-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

In Cambodia, most of the time people never think of about the changes in weather in their daily lives. They always take it for granted since it always sunny and shiny, and the duration of night and day are not quite different even in summer or winter.

But here in Norway, we mind about the weather all the times especially in winter! I have to check weather forecast daily to see what will happend in the next day. Rain, shower, temperature are often changed in the week. You have to prepare for the weather chnages everyday. Now the winter is moving slowly toward the end. Each day, it is about 8 to 10 minutes widers in lenght of the day time! The dark winter here will end soon. Hehehe I like it.

It has been shown that dark and cold weather cause a lot of depression and need light therapy for some people. In the US, during my study in the University of Washington, Seattle in the winter, it was shown the decline in student performance in classes leading to low grades! hehhe- Seasonal Affective Syndrome (SAD).

A joke: A little boy's perspective toward politics!!

2006-01-24T10:55:00.000-08:00

A little boy goes to his dad and asks, "What's politics?"

Dad says, " Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I'm the breadwinner of the family, so let's call me Capitalism. Your Mom, she's the administrator of the money, so we'll call her the Government. We're here to take care of your needs so we'll call you the People. The nanny, we'll consider her he Working Class. Now your baby brother, we'll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense."

So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him, and he finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother fast asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.

The next morning, the little boy says to to his father, " I think I understand Politics now." The father replies, "Good son, tell me in your own words what you think it is." The boy promptly answers, "Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is asleep, the People are being ignored, and the Future is in deep shit."

This joke was sent to me by a friend of mine.

My few favorite sayings

2006-01-23T12:29:00.000-08:00

Nobody knows nothing AND nobody knows everything. (Anonymous)

A thousand miles of journey start from the first step. (Chinese)

No gain without pain. (Anonymous)

The first picture inseretd!

2006-01-18T01:50:00.000-08:00

City I live is the city of rain! Bergen, but in the summer it is the most beautiful city I think.

With the assistance from a friend of mine, this first picture was inserted successfully! hha it is fun to learn how to work with the web.

The spring semester started! fasten your seatbelt haha

2006-01-18T01:43:00.000-08:00

Now i am back to the school. No time for fun! I am told that by the end of two weeks of intensive experimental epidemiology, we all will be exhausted! hhhe, we'll see!

A winter break in Paris!

2006-01-08T05:27:00.000-08:00

After the first semester was over, I left Bergen for a while to visit relatives in Paris. It was a great time there. It took about 2h 10 mn from Bergen to Paris. It is a great, a stylistic and a busy city comparing with Bergen, the city where I came from!

All relatives were warm and friendly to me though everyone had their own jobs to do. We were lucky enough to have the chrismas time in my relative's house in which all of her sons, daughters's families with children could come to enjoy. For adults, chrismas and new year were a nice time for familes's union but for children, it was a time for fun to get the chrismas gifts and other!

I visited few places during my stay there: Notre Dame, l'arc the Triomphe, Montre Matre, Eiffel Tower and the popular boulevard of Champ Elysse. For some people from Cambodia, Paris is a city of their dream! But for me, it was not a city of dream but just a place that makes me know more about another world!

I was back to Bergen on December 30, 2005. I was asked stay until new year in Paris but I could not make it due to my air ticket.

A big task is over!

2005-12-18T02:28:00.000-08:00

It is 11:30 AM. Outside the unviversity dormitory, it is quiet and cold. From my window, snow is everywhere making the dark winter in Bergen become bright!

I just finalized the revised manuscript about HIV and mobility and forward it to my coauthor for additional comments before the final version can be sent out. I feel relax now. but it lasts very short because I have to go through another report. It is needed to be printed before the end of the year due to budget expiration. When playing games, we have to know the rule of the game and follow the rules!

Next, I will write more about my experience living in Norway as an outsider in this diary.

The first semester is over!

2005-12-16T23:34:00.000-08:00

I had a party with friends last night after the first semester was over. It was a little bit late caused me a trouble in falling asleep afterward. Therefore, I decide to go online and learn how to use web blogger with expectation to be able to post something online to express my ideas, thoughts on different issues in my daily life in Bergen in terms of living and studying.

A little bit about me

2005-12-16T22:55:00.000-08:00

From where should I start myself? I am from Phnom Penh, Cambodia but currently I am a student at the Centre for International Health, Univeristy of Bergen, Norway.

It's my first time to start learning how to use blogger. It takes me for a while to figure it out. That's OK. It's a leanring process! Now I am struggling with how to post my photo in my web. It's great that the blogger has made friendly templates for users. It makes my life easy!