Better health through the use of information produced
by high quality, sustainable routine health information systems.
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4TH ROUTINE HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK
(RHINO) INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP
Guanajuato, Mexico,
March 8-12, 2010
To register for the workshop please complete and return the REGISTRATION FORM by December 10, 2009.
The 4th RHINO International Workshop will take place in the beautiful town of Guanajuato, the capital of Guanajuato State in Mexico. The RHINO NGO will organize this workshop in collaboration with Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica (INSP), Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, the Ministry of Health, Mexico and MEASURE Evaluation/USAID.
This workshop will address the critical role of the Routine Health Information System (RHIS) in improving health system performance. In the past several years there has been increasing emphasis on the need to strengthen health systems and the need for better health information support and health information systems in resource poor countries. Yet little attention has been given to exploring the inter-relationship between RHIS and health systems and the critical nature each plays in reaching its respective stated outcomes: production and use of good quality information in decision-making, which in turn leads to more effective, and efficient health service delivery and better health outcomes.
This workshop will examine how to measure and improve RHIS performance, how RHIS can better support health system performance and how changes in RHIS and health system performance lead to the ultimate goal of better health outcomes. Workshop content will provide opportunities, using on-site visits and “real-life” case study methodology, to measure and analyze system performance, develop needed interventions, and learn from a variety of country experiences how these interventions achieve the desired results.
Participants for this workshop will be both health system policy and operational decision makers as well as RHIS managers, analysts, and data collectors.…in other words both the information users and producers.
The workshop language will be English.
Interaction opportunities for French and Spanish
speaking participants will be created through small discussion
groups!
PROVISIONAL AGENDA
The five day workshop combines visits to study the host health system and RHIS in the Guanajuato State Ministry of Health with presentations and intensive small working group discussions led by international RHIS experts. Lessons learned from the field visit observations and real life case studies prepared for the workshop will provide the basis for learning in the small group sessions.
Day 1: Plenary session to welcome participants; keynote address on the role of health information in health system performance; overview of the week’s agenda and introduction to the workshop content as a basis for fieldwork and discussions. Subjects presented will be: characteristics of high performing health systems and routine health information systems; a conceptual framework to guide RHIS performance measurement, design of interventions for improving performance, and use of health information for decision making at all levels. Small group discussions to prepare for field visits.
Day 2: Field visits to the Guanajuato State and District Health Offices as well as to various types of facilities. Participants will be divided into groups based on their positions in their home organizations and on their workshop learning objectives. Participants will meet with their Mexican counterparts and will also have the opportunity to study data production (collection, analysis and dissemination) as well as use of information as it relates to improving health service performance. Participants will do a “mini-assessment” of the host health and RHIS systems. In the evening there will be a RHIS FAIR. At the RHIS Fair participants will share work they bring with them of their own experiences through posters, videos on CD, papers and case studies or other methods of their choice. Examples of possible presentations include the presentation of new tools, of case studies and of interventions implemented and results obtained following an RHIS assessment activity.
Day 3: Working in small groups, participants analyze their observations and data obtained from Day 2 as well as that from a larger RHIS assessment study in Guanajuato State and come to an interpretation of the findings. At the end of the day they will be asked to begin thinking about what they plan to do with their findings.
Day 4: Again working in small groups participants will identify interventions for strengthening RHIS based on their findings of the previous day. Various interventions will be explored in depth, action plans developed and monitoring RHIS performance discussed. The day will end with presentations of effective “real-life” interventions and lessons learned.
An evening dinner and music will be arranged to enjoy the famous Mexican hospitality.
Day 5: The final day will be a day for participants to choose from a series of concurrent, repeating sessions that will provide information on the latest developments in RHINO and in RHIS state of the art topics. The following examples are illustrative of possible subjects to be covered: Innovative ICT tools and solutions; RHIS integration; HIS Enterprise Architecture; conducting advocacy for RHINO and RHIS; (R)HIS policy development and implementation; capacity building of (R)HIS personnel. Participants will evaluate the workshop and identify lessons learned during the week as well as recommending steps forward in further development of RHIS improvement as well as for the new RHINO/NGO. A closing plenary session with speakers will end the 4th RHINO International Workshop.
Featured Accommodations
El Camino Real
Guanajuato, México
The El Camino Real hotel is located in one of Guanajuato’s most beautiful haciendas, San Francisco Javier. The hotel is a short five minute walk to many of the city’s main attractions in the historic town center. El Camino Real has a comfortable and pleasant feel to it and is surrounded by the hills of Guanajuato. The grounds of the hotel are very spacious with several beautiful gardens, a swimming pool and six elegant Colonial style meeting rooms. The El Camino Real has extensive experience and facilities for hosting large professional meetings and seminars. The guest rooms at El Camino Real are fully equipped with air conditioning, ironing board, TV, telephone, hair dryer, safe, and other amenities. The hotel also has a business center fully equipped with four desktop computers, printer, scanner, telephone, fax machine and photocopier, along with free wireless internet throughout the entire hotel.
El Camino Real is famous for its hospitality with a very professional and welcoming staff. The hotel is located approximately 20 minutes from El Bajío Internatoinal Airport in Leon, México.
For more information on El Camino Real, please
visit their website at
http://www.caminoreal.com/guanajuato_i/main.php
For more tourist information on Guanajuato,
please visit
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2798-the-beautiful-mexican-colonial-city-of-guanajuato
RHINO Online Forum: Is Integration of Health Information Systems Possible? Some Issues and Considerations - July 27th to 31st, 2009
The achievement of the health related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will depend upon the effectiveness and efficiency of health systems. WHO promotes strengthening the five major components of health systems - governance/policy, financing, human resource, logistics/supply chain and the health information systems (HIS) – to achieve a quality health delivery system and subsequently sustainable health of the target populations. HIS remains the backbone for providing information to track progress for improving the different health system components and monitoring the MDG goals.
The Health Metrics Network (HMN) has brought a new framework to integrate the various sources of health information from population based sources such as household surveys and vital registration to routine health information systems (RHIS) such as service and individual statistics. The HMN framework proposes standards and guidelines for HIS strengthening and consequently health system performance. At the same time program based routine information systems (usually called vertical information systems) continue to proliferate in parallel to the general RHIS. This trend is causing significant strain on health providers through increased workload, redundancy in collecting information, inconsistent and low quality information, and hindrance in creating a holistic picture of the health system performance.
Against this background and given the severe resource constraints in developing countries for HIS strengthening in the health sector, there is a need to debate whether integration of HIS is a lost cause. Is integration of HIS possible? If yes, how? Given the advancement of information technology, does the integration of health information systems take on a new meaning and expand its boundaries? What are the best strategies for approaching integration of existing information systems in the health sector in general and for routine information systems in particular? Who are the internal and external stakeholders for strengthening or resisting integration? What are the trends and opportunities that exist? What are the positive and negative experiences about integrating HIS in various countries?
RHINO would like to explore everyone’s thoughts on this mosaic of issues related to integrating HIS in general and RHIS in particular. We want you to share your experiences and your thoughts to shape this debate.
RHINO invites your valuable contributions to this discussion by joining the next RHINO e-forum from 27th to 31st July 2009. We hope you will find time to register and participate in this forum. We plan to write a report based on your shared experiences, highlighting issues and consideration to move forward. As we receive comments, we will finalize the RHINO e-forum specific agenda and will communicate with you by mid July.
To register, kindly email Matthew Parker at mparker@jsi.com. Note: The title of the email should read <Participate in RHINO On-line Forum>. In the email please include your name, organization and title. Once you have registered, you will get further information about the forum including a copy of the resources that will be used plus the information about the forum moderators. Registration closes on July 17, 2009.
Forum Organizers
Francis Kiweewa, MD, MPH
Anwer Aqil, MD, MCPS, MPH, DrPH
RHINO Forum on Data Quality Assurance for Routine Health Information Systems and Monitoring & Evaluation
(Continued reading)
An accurate assessment of data quality requires visits to service delivery sites and districts (or higher levels) to verify the accuracy, timeliness and completeness of reported data. Several tools are now available to assist in assessing data quality as part of RHIS performance. The Performance of Routine Health Information Management (PRISM) Toolkit assists program managers to assess RHIS performance (data quality and use of information) and its technical, organizational, behavioral determinants. The diagnostic tool within the PRISM toolkit can be employed to measure data quality (accuracy, timeliness, completeness of reporting) at district level by sampling reporting sites or to estimate data quality at the national level. Similarly, the diagnostic tool could be used for monitoring or evaluating the achievement of a particular aspect of data quality at the district or higher level. The Routine Data Quality Assurance Tool (RDQA) focuses on donor funded program M&E systems to assess data quality as part of routine program supervision. The Data Quality Audit tool (DQA) allows donors and country programs to conduct independent formal audits of data quality and derive national level estimates of accuracy for select indicators.
The RHINO on-line forum on data quality assessment is an opportunity to review the state of the art in data quality assessment for RHIS and M&E systems, discuss experiences using the various tools, and learn what strategies are being developed for other aspects of data quality assurance such as double counting, computerized data systems, and the creation of country (or project) level data quality assurance plans. We hope that you can join us for this important discussion April 20-24, 2009.
Tools to review for forum participation and discussion:
Health Information Systems Course
As it has done each year, the Free University of Brussels (l’ULB) in collaboration with AEDES and CEMUBAC will hold an intensive course on health information systems in developing countries.
This course is directed towards health system strengthening and is based on real experiences of participants in the Field.
The training will be held the month of May, 2009, and registration is open through to the end of March.
The course will be held in French and all course materials are in French.
For the course brochure please click here.
______________
Bonjour à tous,
Comme chaque année l’ULB organise en collaboration avec AEDES (Agence européenne pour le Développement et la Santéet) avec CEMUBAC (le Centre Scientifique et Médical de l'Université Libre de Bruxelles pour ses activités de Coopération) un cours intensif sur les systèmes d’information sanitaire dans les pays en développement.
Ce cours est orienté vers le renforcement des systèmes de santé et se base sur l’expérience concrète des participants sur le terrain.
La formation a lieu au mois de mai et les inscriptions sont ouvertes jusque fin mars.
Merci de diffuser largement
Bien à vous
BrochureRHINO Online Forum on the Community-Level HIV/AIDS Program Information Reporting (CLPIR) Toolkit - January 26 - 30, 2009
Community-level Information and the CLPIR Toolkit
Numerous community-based groups and organizations, including
NGOs, FBOs, CBOs, grass-root support groups and volunteers,
are providing needed services directly to HIV/AIDS affected
individuals, households and communities to prevent and
mitigate the impact of the disease. These services include,
but are not limited to the provision of care and support
for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), behavior change
communication and promotion, and provision of home-based
care to people and families living with HIV/AIDS. In
some contexts these services and service providers are
linked to health facilities, but a lot of the work is
done directly in communities and is not linked to health
facility based information systems.
Communities are doing commendable work under very difficult circumstances and there is an urgent need to support them, build local capacity, strengthen information systems for community-level activities and improve the quality of community-level information. MEASURE Evaluation developed the Community-Level HIV/AIDS Program Information Reporting Toolkit (CLPIR Toolkit) to address these needs.
The CLPIR Toolkit is intended for users at the national, sub-national and community levels and contains modules to assess existing community-level information system(s), harmonize national reporting requirements for community-level programs and strengthen the capacity of community-level programs and service providers to collect, report and use information.
Call for Participation
The Toolkit is currently being field tested in several countries.
We would like to extend the field test to the RHINO community
through this on-line forum to get input from a wide range
of professionals with expertise in the area of routine
health information systems.
- Apply your knowledge and expertise to help community-level HIV/AIDS activities improve their information systems.
- Provide your input on the tools and resources contained in the Toolkit.
- Share your thoughts and experiences on approaches to strengthen community-level information and learn from the experiences of others.
- Join the forum!
Schedule
The forum will take place over a course of a week from January
26, 2009 through January 30, 2009.
How to participate?
If you would like to participate in the forum, kindly email
Matthew Parker at mparker@jsi.com.
The title of the email should read <Participate
in RHINO On-line Forum>. In the email please
include your name, organization and title. Once you have
registered, you will get further information about the
forum including a copy of the CLPIR Toolkit, information
about the forum moderators and illustrative questions
that will guide the discussion. This information will
also be posted on the RHINO website.
Mark your calendars and register today! Registration closes on January 9, 2009.
October 6, 2008
Welcome to our newly designed RHINO website. We hope it serves
as an important resource to you as you seek information
on routine health information systems. We will continue
to add resources to the site over the upcoming months
and welcome your suggestions.
September 6, 2008
It is with much pleasure that we announce, on April 10, 2008,
RHINO was recognized as a non-profit, tax-exempt organization
registered in the United States. We have been working
towards this goal for a while and now that it is accomplished,
our focus is to promote RHINO’s mission and goals
with renewed energy and chart future activities.