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Chapter 8 - Health Information Systems

Data for Decision-Making in Health Systems

from Section 1 - Analyzing Health Systems: Concepts, Components, Performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2022

By
Ali H. Mokdad
Edited by
Sameen Siddiqi ,
Awad Mataria ,
Katherine D. Rouleau  and
Meesha Iqbal
Sameen Siddiqi
Affiliation:
Aga Khan University
Awad Mataria
Affiliation:
World Health Organization, Egypt
Katherine D. Rouleau
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Meesha Iqbal
Affiliation:
UTHealth School of Public Health, Houston
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Summary

Health information systems (HIS) are crucial for guiding sound public health policies and programs. Information systems are complex entities formed of diverse parts with one common plan and purpose. A critical feature of information systems is that their components have regular interactions and interdependences. The systems should be flexible and adaptable to changes in burden and circumstances. Building health information systems should start by complementing what is currently in place and improving existing systems. It should use new technologies and include training for collectors and users. Most importantly, the data and findings should be rigorously analysed, interpreted, translated, disseminated and used to inform implementation. In this chapter, we provide a brief review of HIS and an example using the Global Burden of Disease as a case study of how different sources of HIS are used to estimate the burden of a disease to guide policies and programs.

Keywords

Health information systemsHealth data sourcesMortalityDisabilityGlobal Burden of DiseaseHealth recordsEffective coverageInjuriesRisk factorsL&MIC
Type
Chapter
Information
Making Health Systems Work in Low and Middle Income Countries
Textbook for Public Health Practitioners
 , pp. 118 - 129
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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