Communication Workshop

Transforming data into information and evidence

HMN cycle of data generation, knowledge brokering and use of evidence

Evidence

• Context-free– What works in general– Overall ‘potential’ of something– Clinical efficacy or biomedical research

• Context-sensitive– Evidence in an operational setting– Theory meets reality

• Colloquial– Expert opinion– First-hand experience– Story-telling

Types of evidence – different users

• Policy makers– Outcomes, impact

• Health planners and managers– What can be operationalised and monitored

• Scientists– What is conceptually sound

• Care providers– What works or doesn’t work in hospitals; what will improve

patient care• Donors– Monitoring and evaluation, value for money

Types of evidence – different purposes

• Advocacy– Draw attention to a specific problem

• Levels and trends– Show how big the problems are and who they affect

• Determinants– Show what causes the problem

• Diagnosis– Identify potential solutions

• Progress– Plan, carry out and assess actions to reduce these problems

How do we translate data into information and evidence?

• The challenge is not just to produce health information

• Need to act as ‘knowledge brokers’ facilitating the translation of data to policy and programming

• Two key steps–Analysis and interpretation–Communication and dissemination

What helps turn data into information?

Comparisons• Countries• Regions• Internally – location, gender, ethnicity• How to summarise country position– Ranking– Percentile– Standard deviations from the mean– Position compared with country mean or median– Benchmarking: comparing with good performers

Comparisons with the worldUnder-five mortality

Comparisons with the PacificUnder-five mortality

Comparisons within and between countriesInfant mortality rate

Source: Commonwealth Fund National Scorecard on US Health System Performance, 2008

Comparisons within internal regions

Source: Commonwealth Fund National Scorecard on US Health System Performance, 2008

Performance assessment‘Putting it all together’

• Identifying contextual changes– Demographic, economic, social and political factors

• Progress assessment– Compared to targets– Compared to peers

• Equity analysis– Trends in equity gaps by key stratifiers

• Efficiency analysis– Results by inputs

• Performance = summarising and interpreting the results

Why communicate?

• Inform and educate• Create a culture of data use• Improve health policy• Improve health service provision• Achieve better health outcomes• Information systems aren’t just about data

generation!• Access and use are integral parts of strengthening• Connect data production with use

What helps communication?

• Personal contact• Timeliness and relevance• Summary and recommendations• Good quality• Confirmed current policy or endorsed self-interest• Community pressure or demand– People need to understand why data is important

before they will demand it

Knowledge management

Where are we now?• Types of knowledge being produced• Outputs created• Barriers and promotersWhere do we want to be?• Benefits from knowledge management• Measuring successHow do we get there?• Developing an action plan• People, processes, technology

Group work

Mapping the flow of data and information30 minutes

Brainstorm5 minutes

Your unit or department

People who give you

data

Agencies who give you data

Data you have to look for yourself

Brainstorm5 minutes

People you give information to

Agencies you give information to

People/agencies who request information Pe

ople

and

age

ncie

s w

ho re

ceiv

e in

form

ation

Your unit or

department

Complete the table15 minutes

Communic-ation products

ObjectivesWhat do you want this to achieve?

AudienceWho is the key audience?Are there others?

MessageWhat is the message?Is it the same for all audiences?

ChannelsHow do you promote and disseminate your work?

Annual report

Policy Briefs

Others..

Further reading

The knowledge Translation Toolkit provides a thorough overview of what knowledgetranslation is and how to use it to bridge the ‘know-do’ gap between research, policy, practice, and people. It presents the theories, tools, and strategies required to encourage and enable evidence-informed decision-making.

The Toolkit can be viewed online at http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications/Pages/IDRCBookDetails.aspx?PublicationID=851