Health Information Systems

The purpose of this paper is to explore how data collected at the community level is utilised by various stakeholders within the community in order to produce actionable information for decision making. [from abstract]

To improve the consistency of health facilities assessments, the World Health Organization has proposed the use of the Health Resources Availability Mapping System (HeRAMS) developed in Darfur, Sudan as a standardized assessment tool for use in future acute and protracted crises.This study provides an evaluation of HeRAMS’ comprehensiveness, and investigates the methods, quality and comprehensiveness of health facilities data and tools in Haiti, where HeRAMS was not used.

The impact of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy has been less than anticipated because of poor uptake. Electronic algorithms have the potential to improve quality of health care in children. However, feasibility studies about the use of electronic protocols on mobile devices over time are limited. This study investigated constraining as well as facilitating factors that influence the uptake of a new electronic Algorithm for
Management of Childhood Illness (ALMANACH) among primary health workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. [from abstract]

Health information is required for a variety of purposes at all levels of a health system, and a workforce skilled in collecting, analysing, presenting, and disseminating such information is essential to fulfil these demands. While it is established that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are facing shortages in human resources for health (HRH), there has been little systematic attention focused on non-clinical competencies. In response, we developed a framework that defines the minimum health information competencies required by health workers at various levels of a health system.

This paper presents the study and analysis of some articles that were selected according to their potential contributions to the introduction of information technology (IT) in the Healthcare industry in West Africa. [from introduction]

The mHealth Planning Guide helps individuals and organizations appropriately plan for mHealth deployments. [from introduction]

Recording nursing reports is considered as a quality assurance tool for patients and nurses. Nowadays,the presence of electronic health record systems is an indicator of development. Studies on advantages and disadvantages of the electronic and manual recording methods have shown different results. In this study, electronic and manual recording of nursing reports were compared from the perspective of nurses. [from abstract]

Mobile health (mHealth) applications, such as innovative electronic forms on smartphones, could potentially improve the performance of health care workers and health systems in developing countries. However, contextual evidence on health workers’ barriers and motivating factors that may influence large-scale implementation of such interfaces for health care delivery is scarce. [from abstract]

The purpose of thsi research project is to establish the factors influencing use of telemedicine in Africa: a case of School of Medicine, University of Nairobi.

Electronic medical record systems are being implemented in many countries to support healthcare services. However, its adoption rate remains low, especially in developing countries due to technological, financial, and organizational factors. There is lack of solid evidence and empirical research regarding the pre implementation readiness of healthcare providers. The aim of this study is to assess health professionals?

Our analysis focused mainly on the Choose and Book system for outpatient referrals, introduced in 2004, which remained unpopular and little used throughout the period of our research (i.e. 2007–13). We identified four foci of resistance: to the policy of choice that Choose and Book symbolised and purported to deliver; to accommodating the technology’s sociomaterial constraints; to interference with doctors’ contextual judgements; and to adjusting to the altered social relations consequent on its use.

This chapter reviews progress made by the health sector in implementing the eHealth Strategy 2012–2016, which was approved by the Ministry of Health and published in July 2012. The finalisation of this Strategy following
several attempts, and its placement in the public domain, created optimism that a clear vision for improving health information systems in South Africa had been successfully articulated. [from introduction]

These Standard Operating Procedures aim to clarify the responsibilities and procedures for effective management of aggregated routine health services. These SOPs for provinces present basic and practical steps to be followed by
provincial health information management personnel, programme/line managers and clinic supervisors at provincial level to ensure that data is appropriately handled and used to improve service delivery at local level, prior
to submission to next level of the health system, within the specified time frames.

These Standard Operating Procedures aim to clarify the responsibilities and procedures for effective management of aggregated routine health services. These SOPs for the National DoH present basic and practical steps to be
followed by national health information management personnel, programme/line managers and clinic supervisors at national level to ensure that data is appropriately handled and used to improve service delivery at local level, prior
to submission to next level of the health system, within the specified time frames.

The last decade has witnessed massive growth in the African economy, accompanied by an unprecedented uptake of novel communications technologies across the five sub-regions. At the same time, the burden of various diseases – both communicable and non-communicable – is also escalating. Thus, the objective of this research was to analyze and highlight uncommon applications of novel technologies toward healthcare delivery in Africa. [from abstract]

This paper presents the results of two field experiments on local accountability in primary health care in Uganda. Efforts to stimulate beneficiary control, coupled with the provision of report cards on staff performance, resulted in significant improvements in health care delivery and health outcomes in both the short and the longer run. Efforts to stimulate beneficiary control without providing information on performance had no impact on quality of care or health outcomes.

Using online discussion forums can have a positive impact on psychological well-being through development of shared group identity and validation of thoughts, feelings and experiences. This may be particularly beneficial to people with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), who often become socially isolated, lack mobility and face threats to their sense of identity. We set up a peer-support online forum to identify the nature of support provided and to explore its development over time.

The leaflet, “Components of a Strong Health Information System” briefly explains the six key components that help countries develop their own health information systems in a way that empowers all those who contribute to and benefit from health information. The six key components include three categories of inputs, processes and outputs of HIS reform. [from introduction]
Companion piece to http://www.hrhresourcecenter.org/node/5925

The HMN Framework explains why and how countries can build stronger systems to gather, manage, analyse and distribute health information. The Framework describes the elements that help to make a system effective, how they can be evaluated, and the principles that empower countries to build and strengthen their systems according to an agreed standard. [from introduction]
Companion piece to http://www.hrhresourcecenter.org/node/5927

An outreach activity, which originally targeted health professionals and student nurses in rural Uganda, was extended to the community with a focus on addressing the most prevalent diseases/health problems reported by the Health Management Information System (HMIS) of the Uganda Ministry of Health.

Given the essential role of data collection and management in the health system, this study intended to evaluation of the
observance rate of component information management in the health system of Chahar Mahal Bakhtiyari province based on World Health Organization standards. [from abstract]

This document reports on the assessment findings that serve as a basis for formulating interventions to improve the HMIS performance and as a baseline for future monitoring of HMIS performance improvement in the zones. Additionally, lessons learned from this assessment will further inform needed modifications and/or adaptations of the HMIS performance assessment tools to be used for assessments in the remaining zones of SNNPR. [from introduction]

This study investigated the influence of media awareness campaigns on breast cancer care among women in South-West Nigeria. This study was anchored on two theories: agenda setting theory and diffusion of innovation theory. [adapted from abstract]

The purpose of this study was to assess the implementation of the NHIS by documenting experiences of individual stakeholders, and to suggest recommendations for improvement. We reviewed relevant documents and conducted face-to-face interviews (N=4) with individuals directly involved with data gathering, reporting and storage. [from abstract]

This study provided a direction to the Taiwanese government by focusing on attributes which physicians found important but were dissatisfied with, to close the gap between actual and expected performance of the EHRs. [adapted from abstract]

As countries move ahead with HRIS scale-up efforts, it is important to establish and use standards (organizational, national, and international) to align and harmonize the collection, aggregation, and analysis of human resources for health (HRH) data. [from introduction]

The objective of this study is to provide information on the current state of physician tracking systems in the region, highlighting emerging themes and innovative practices. [from abstract]

This toolkit can help public health managers to plan for the implementation of information and communications technology (ICT) in health information systems. It draws on lessons learned during project Optimize, a five-year partnership between the World Health Organization and PATH to help optimize the vaccine supply chain

This article reports on a workforce information system designed to assemble the latest available data on oncologist supply and cancer incidence and prevalence, which was developed in anticipation of projected oncologist workforce shortages. [adapted from abstract]

This study aims to describe and assess selected clinical and reporting information processes of health workers providing antenatal care services in three Kenyan facilities to the national health information system. It assessed different aspects of clinical information systems and the quality of data. [adapted from author]