ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the diverse uses for microcomputers in the promotion of improved health care in developing countries. Health includes not only the many facets of medical care and treatment, but also nutrition, health education, epidemiology, demography and population, and environmental science and engineering. References on the use of microcomputers in the health field can be found in three computerized databases: Medline 1979, Compendex, and Exerpta Medica. To implement a health information system, data must be collected, stored, processed, analyzed, and interpreted; the resulting information must be disseminated in a timely manner, and feedback is necessary. Health posts at the village level, namely the Health Center and Midwifery Center, collect data and fill in the record form designed by the Ministry of Public Health. Family Health International developed a maternity care monitoring system at the request of physicians who wanted a "maternity survey" as a tool for improvement in maternal and perinatal health.
