Report Writing in Health

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Report Writing in HealthReport Writing in Health

Nayyar Raza Kazmi


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Lets Suppose..

Lets Suppose..

You are directed by your

organization to visit a couple of

Primary Health Centres in Western

Afghanistan and report on the quality

of care being provided to rural

people.


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You take the pains of going tovisit approximately 23 PHCCentres in WesternAfghanistan and checked the

parameters like staffattendance, drugs supply,utilization, services beingdelivered and their volumeand discuss the issues withthe local staff.

You are back in three weeks,and now your Director asks

you to submit a written reportof your visits for onwardsubmission to the countrydirector of your organization.


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Your Report Writing SkillsYour Report Writing Skills

means..means..

Just as you will be judged by your

interpersonal skills and organization,

so you will be judged by your ability

to get the facts down accurately and

in a way that others can understand.


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Basic Types of Managerial Reports

Basic Types of Managerial Reports

Informational - contains facts/figures,

e.g. sales, production or accident

reports.

Analytical - written to solve

problems/situations, contains

recommendations.


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Before

You Jump Start

Before

You Jump Start

A first mistake is to assume that you know whatthe person who asked for the report wants. Oftenthey do not know what they want themselves.

They will never hesitate to tell you that what youhave written is not what they want!

Before starting insist on a thorough briefing fromthe person who requested the report and identify: (a) the purpose of the report

(b) the need for the report

(c) who is going to read the report

(d) the scope of the report


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Looking back to the initial Example

Looking back to the initial Example

Your director is basically interested

to know what the different indicators

are for various quality indicators of

PHC services and how they related

with the standards set for same

indicators and if there are any shortcoming what are the reasons for

those short comings.


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Contd..

Contd..

Attendance Rate for staff

Drugs stock availability

Utilization Rates

Services currently being provided

along with its volume


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Decide what you want the report toachieve. Write to achieve that and

only that. Identify your readers, their

motivations, needs and concerns.

Knowing what you want is halfway togetting it!


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Structure of the ReportStructure of the ReportFocus on:

The beginnings and endings of reports - these are what busy peoplenotice most!

Putting action points near the beginning or at theend.

Signposting by using meaningfulheadings. The reader should knowexactly what willhappen next. Important points should stand outclearly.

Use an "Executive Summary" written in simplelanguage.

Information will not be read in the order you writeit. Placeessentialinformation either at the top or the bottom of thepage with thelessimportant information in the middleparagraphs.

Check:

Have you clearly stated your conclusions and recommendations?


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Purpose of a ReportP

urpose of a Report The purpose of a report is to inform the

reader. It is helpful, both to the reader andto the writer, if the report is logicallyorganized. Over the years a standardformat for reports has been worked out.Although there may be circumstanceswhen it is advisable to change the formatto fit a articular need, following the formatensures that all the essential informationis included and that it is treated in alogical way


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TitleTitle The title is your readers first contact with the

report. Its aim is to inform them of the reportscontents. It should be brief, but it must contain

enough information to distinguish it from other,similar report

title

writer

organisation date

person/group who commissioned the report


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List of

Contents

List of

Contents

accurate, clear layout

section numbering system and

indentation

complete

page numbers

list of illustrations if applicable


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Summary or AbstractSummary or Abstract The purpose of the summary is to give a brief

overview of the whole report, not just of theconclusions and recommendations. Although it is

placed immediately after the title, it is written last,after the rest of the report has been completed. Itis not necessary to give detailed information inthe summary - it is sufficient to give an indicationof the kind of information that can be found in the

report. For a short report, a summary of about 100-150 words is enough


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IntroductionIntroduction

The purpose of the introduction is to set thescene for your readers so that they know what toexpect from the report. It is important to

remember that the introduction introduces thereport. It does not introduce the subject.

You should leave any material facts until the mainbody of the report. The introduction answers thequestions:

Why is the report being written?

What kinds ofinformation does it contain?

How is theproblem being approached?

For whom is the report being written?


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Why is the Report Being WrittenWhy is the Report Being Written It is important to set out your brief for the report.

You need to give the circumstances which madethe report necessary and what you hope to

achieve by writing it. It may be necessary to givesome background information so that there is aframework into which your readers can fit theinformation you are presenting. Of course, youneed to use your judgment to decide how much

detail to include, and this will largely depend onyour assessment of the people who will bereading the report.


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What kind of information it containsWhat kind of information it containsYou need to give an indication of the

subject matter which you are dealing

with. It is often helpful to give thescope of the information as well. Forexample, you could say how detailedor technical the information is going

to be. You might need to say whatkinds of information you are notgoing to deal with.


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What kind of information does itWhat kind of information does it

containcontain

You need to say whether you are

dealing with the problem from a

theoretical or practical standpoint.Give an outline of the methods you

used in your investigations.


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F

or whom is the report being writtenF

or whom is the report being written It is helpful to state whether you are

writing for a technical or general

reader - or any other particulargroup. This will help your potentialreaders to decide whether it isworthwhile reading the report. It will

also help you to judge the style,language and degree of difficulty touse in writing the report.


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MainB

ody of the ReportMainB

ody of the Report This is where the real content of the

report is presented. It should be given

its own title, which describes thesubject matter. It is usual to present

the material in two sections: How

you collected the information andFindings (or Evidence).


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Format of the Main Body

Format of the Main Body

main headings indicating equal level of importance

all subheadings relating to section heading

choice of levels indicating hierarchy of importance

hierarchy of importance shown by careful and consistent use of

features such as capitals, different fonts, underlining, bold, italics indenting

numbering/letter system

space between sections to enhance readability and layout

when using charts, statistics and illustrations check for suitability,captions, reference in text and positioning

acknowledgement of all sources, including material referred toindirectly, direct quotations, copied diagrams, tables, statistics

ensure a systematic link between references in the text and thereference list and bibliography


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Evidence part of the Main Body

Evidence part of the Main Body

This is the place where you present yourevidence. It should be organised logically

so that your conclusions arise naturallyfrom the facts you have written. It isimportant to confine yourself to provenfacts here and to resist the temptation toindulge in personal views. It is sometimes

helpful to use tables, diagrams or graphsto make your information more easilyunderstood.


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Evidence part of the Main BodyEvidence part of the Main Body--

Contd..Contd.. Always ask yourself if all the detail you

have given is necessary to understand themain argument. If it is, then present it

within the text. If it is not, then the tables,graphs and so on may be better placed inan appendix. Do make sure that graphsand diagrams are well constructed andlabelled so that they do, in fact, make theinformation easier to understand. A badlyconstructed diagram or graph can makethe information more confusing


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Evidence part of the Main BodyEvidence part of the Main Body--

Contd..Contd.. Another point to remember is that it

is not enough simply to present a

graph or table and expect yourreader to pick out what is important.It is your job to show the reader whatthe main facts are and how they

relate to the subject you arepresenting. You must, therefore,include some discussion of the facts.


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Conclusions

Conclusions

The conclusions should arise naturallyfrom the evidence that is presented in the

previous sections. You might include, forexample, statements on what hashappened, what the situation is and whatmight happen. You might also considerfurther action that could be taken, and an

analysis of the advantages anddisadvantages of various courses ofaction.


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ConclusionsConclusions-- Contd..Contd.. If appropriate, you should give your

opinion, in the light of your experience

and the evidence that you have presented,what a preferred course of action wouldbe. If there are any gaps in yourknowledge which prevent you coming to adecision, then you should make that clear

and perhaps outline what furtherinvestigations would be necessary toprovide fuller information.


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What not to do in a ConclusionWhat not to do in a ConclusionYou should not include any new

information that does not appear in

the main body of the report. Youshould not make statements that you

cannot support from the evidence.


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RecommendationsRecommendations Recommendations are not always

called for in a report, but if they are

included, they should follow onlogically from the conclusions.Usually a brief statement of whatshould or should not be done is

sufficient. It helps the reader if therecommendations are set out as briefstatements.


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AppendixAppendix The appendix contains peripheral

matter which would overload your

main argument. Some of the kinds ofmaterial that can be included are


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GlossaryG

lossary If you are presenting a technical report to

people who are not experts in the subject,

it is sometimes helpful to provideexplanations of the technical terms you

are using. The neatest way to do this is to

provide a glossary in the Appendix. You

list, in alphabetical order, the terms youhave used with a brief definition of their

meaning.


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Supporting TextsSupporting TextsYou can add supporting texts, like

specific forms, questionnaires, office

orders etc etc.


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ReferencesReferences Harvard or Vancouver Style

Surname followed by initials of Firstand middle Name. Article name.Journal Name followed by Volume

and issue no. (For non journalarticles, names of publishingauthority, year and Page Nos.

Report Writing in Health

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