Strengthening health information systems for disability-related rehabilitation in LMICs

McPherson, Anna, Durham, Jo, Richards, Nicola, Gouda, Hebe, Rampatige, Rasika, and Whittaker, Maxine (2017) Strengthening health information systems for disability-related rehabilitation in LMICs. Health Policy and Planning, 32. pp. 384-394.

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the state of rehabilitation health information systems (HIS) in different settings, and identify key processes and actions which contribute to the development of HIS which can effectively support low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) allocate resources to health-related rehabilitation to people with disabilities. Nine case studies were conducted across different disability and developmental settings using documentary review and semi-structured key informant interviews (N = 41). Results were analysed against the six building blocks of a HIS, based on the Health Metrics Network Framework and Standards for Country Health Information Systems and existing HIS capacity. Key barriers or enablers to good disability data collection and use, were documented for each HIS component. Research results suggest there is no gold standard HIS for rehabilitation. There was broad consensus however, that effective health related disability planning requires reliable data on disability prevalence, functional status, access to rehabilitation services and functional outcomes of rehabilitation. For low-resource settings, and where routine HIS are already challenged, planning to include disability and rehabilitation foci starting with a minimum dataset on functioning, and progressively improving the system for increased utility and harmonization, is likely to be most effective and minimize the potential for overburdening fragile systems. The recommendations from this study are based on the successes and challenges of countries with established information systems, and will assist LMICs to prioritize strategic measures to strengthen the collection and use of data for rehabilitation, and progressively realize the rights of people with disabilities.

Item ID: 46152
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1460-2237
Keywords: disability, health information systems, LMICs, rehabilitation
Additional Information:

© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com

Funders: World Health Organisation, Disability and Rehabilitation team (WHO)
Projects and Grants: WHO registration number 2013/350680-0
Date Deposited: 23 Oct 2016 23:07
FoR Codes: 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4203 Health services and systems > 420311 Health systems @ 50%
42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4203 Health services and systems > 420318 People with disability @ 50%
SEO Codes: 92 HEALTH > 9204 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) > 920403 Disability and Functional Capacity @ 50%
92 HEALTH > 9204 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) > 920408 Health Status (e.g. Indicators of Well-Being) @ 50%
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