Preparing for the data revolution: identifying minimum health information competencies among the health workforce

Abstract

BackgroundHealth 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 focussed 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.MethodsUsing the Delphi method, we consulted with leading global health information system (HIS) experts. An initial list of competencies and draft framework were developed based on results of a systematic literature review. During the second half of 2012, we sampled 38 experts with broad-based HIS knowledge and extensive development experience. Two rounds of consultation were carried out with the same group to establish validity of the framework and gain feedback on the draft competencies. Responses from consultations were analysed using Qualtrics® software and content analysis.ResultsIn round one, 17 experts agreed to participate in the consultation and 11 (65%) completed the survey. In the second round, 11 experts agreed to participate and eight (73%) completed the survey. Overall, respondents agreed that there is a need for all health workers to have basic HIS competencies and that the concept of a minimum HIS competency framework is valid. Consensus was reached around the inclusion of 68 competencies across four levels of a health system.ConclusionsThis consultation is one of the first to identify the HIS competencies required among general health workers, as opposed to specialist HIS roles. It is also one of the first attempts to develop a framework on minimum HIS competencies needed in LMICs, highlighting the skills needed at each level of the system, and identifying potential gaps in current training to allow a more systematic approach to HIS capacity-building.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12960-015-0002-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Emerging Professionals’ Observations of Opportunities and Challenges in Nursing Informatics

“…Currently, NI are suggested to be core competencies instead of an isolated set of skills in nursing (Abdrbo 2015;Kleib and Nagle 2018;Sipes et al 2017). Informatics competency requirements are set for different roles and all levels of nurses (nurse administrators, nurse researchers, nurse teachers and practicing nurses) (Collins et al 2017;Egbert et al 2018;Grobe 1989;Kannry et al 2016;Skiba 2016;Strudwick et al 2019) and across different levels in health systems, ranging from service providers to national-level strategic decision makers (Whittaker et al 2015). However, a systematic and formal approach to the implementation of NI in nursing education is still lacking in some countries (Cummings et al 2015;Egbert et al 2018), and research has shown that graduate nurses are inadequately prepared in NI when entering practice (Shin et al 2018) and that more NI training is needed at postgraduate levels in nursing (Choi et al 2013;Kupferschmid et al 2017).…”

Health Literacy Studies Conducted in Australia: A Scoping Review

“…Out of all the 27 studies, five studies were carried out in different areas of Victoria [86,88,92,98,99], five in New South Wales [83,89,91,101,103], five in Queensland [76,93,95,100,104], three studies in Western Australia [81,85,90], two studies in South Australia and Australia Capital Territory respectively [77,78,80,94], and one study each in Tasmania and the Northern Territory, and one study recruited participants from all of the states and territories except Tasmania [70,72,73]. One study recruited participants from across Australia [79], and one study was carried out among Indigenous Australians [87].…”

“…The present review also brought forth the time sequence of all the included studies related with health literacy. Three studies were published before the years 2010 [77,79,87] and 25 studies were published between 2010 and 2018 [76,78,80,81,83,85,86,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104]. The spatial and temporal sequence demonstrates that health literacy research is Australia is widespread and most studies have been published since 2010.…”

Design and implementation of an affordable, public sector electronic medical record in rural Nepal

“…Paper-based systems are human resource and time intensive and are often plagued by inaccurate reporting processes leading to out-of-date and irrelevant data 3 – 5. An effective EMR is an essential component of a robust and efficient modern healthcare system 3 , 6 , 7…”