HIFA2015: 3rd Steering Group Meeting

British Medical Association, London, 17th May 2007

Participants
David Chandler (TALC) meeting chair
Charlotte May (BMA)
Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Global Healthcare Information Network)
Jonathan Parker (Independent) notes
Abi Smith (Medsin)
Rachel Stancliffe (Global Healthcare Information Network)

By phone:
Ibrahima Bob (AHILA, Dakar, Senegal)
Jane Ireri (AMREF, Nairobi, Kenya)

Building the HIFA2015 Community
Medsin was welcomed as a new HIFA2015 Supporting Organisation.

We discussed feedback from HIFA2015 and CHILD2015 members on the draft HIFA2015 Foundation Document and it was agreed to provide a summary of feedback to members, and to revise the document in the light of feedback.

HIFA2015 would be presented at the IFMSA Conference in Canterbury (August 2007) www.ukam2007.org, including workshops to discuss issues around access to essential healthcare information in the context of the conference theme ‘Access to essential medicines’

A funding proposal will be prepared to hold the first annual HIFA2015 meeting later in 2007.

Building the HIFA2015 Knowledge Base
Plans are under way to create an IFMSA International Medical Student Elective Programme, whereby medical students worldwide would be able to use part of their elective period to do health information research. The pilot for this will be undertaken in Sierra Leone in August-October 2007. WHO had expressed an interest in this also, looking at the role and impact of WHO publications (HQ and/or country offices) to complement WHO HQ electives.

'HIFA in Africa by 2015' teleconference
The rationale/structure and focus of the Campaign was discussed, emphasising its humanitarian basis and the importance of Africa. The draft funding proposal was discussed, together with the potential for collaboration with AMREF. We should continue to focus on sharing of experience, and AMREF may be able to help identify ‘stories’ and examples to raise awareness of the importance of healthcare information. Email access is growing fast among primary and district health workers in Kenya. Language continues to be a key issue and barrier for the development of the campaign and stakeholder communication, in addition to being a barrier for dissemination of Health Care information. In particular, the importance of engaging francophone and lusophone stakeholders in Africa was emphasised. 

HIFA2015: 2nd Steering Group Meeting

Wellcome Trust, London, Friday 16th March 2007

Participants
Tim Beanland (Wellcome Trust) meeting chair
Kate Brincklow (Institute of Development Studies)
David Chandler (TALC)
Ed Cooper (International Child Health Group/CHILD2015)
Ayo Onatola (St Christopher Iba Mar Diop College)
Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Global Healthcare Information Network)
Jonathan Parker (Independent)
Abi Smith (Medsin) notes

By phone:
Ibrahima Bob (AHILA, Dakar, Senegal)
Pascal Mouhouelo (WHO African Regional Office, Brazzaville, Congo)
Marie Paule Kabore (WHO African Regional Office, Brazzaville, Congo)

Building the HIFA2015 Community
The Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication and the International Federation of Medical Students Associations were welcomed as new HIFA2015 Supporting Organisations. IFMSA endorsement had followed a presentation on HIFA2015 at the IFMSA conference in Perth, Australia.  The Next IFMSA conference is 4-10th August in UK, and HIFA2015 will be presented and discussed there also.

Membership of the HIFA2015 and CHILD2015 groups had increased to 440 and 438, respectively. A presentation on CHILD2015 had been given at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health conference in York. CHILD2015 had also featured in the report by Lord Crisp, commissioned by Tony Blair: ‘Global Health Partnerships’.

Progress had been made on the draft HIFA2015 Foundation Document, and it was agreed to send this out as soon as possible to all HIFA2015 and CHILD2015 members to solicit input.

Presentations on HIFA2015 had been given at the Royal Colleges International Forum and the IEEE2407 workshop, London (Powerpoint at: http://www.ieee2407.org/ws01.html).

Building the HIFA2015 Knowledge Base
GHI-net had completed a preliminary literature review of healthcare information needs in developing countries, in collaboration with ProCOR.

A meeting of the HIFA2015 Knowledge Base group, earlier in the day, had considered how to take the proposal about the knowledge base forward. 3 main areas were discussed.

1. How to build on IDS knowledge services – some time is available. Discussion of possible thematic issues of ID21.
2. Africa literature review – need to be in conjunction with AHILA and WHO AFRO
3. Creating a major proposal for the development of a knowledge base to take to big funders.

'HIFA in Africa by 2015' teleconference
There was discussion about the concept note, and how the concept supported some of the key resolutions expressed at the AHILA10 meeting. It was agreed there is a need to build on the preliminary global literature review and to focus now on the African literature. Barriers with regard to the campaign included ‘getting government and policy makers to buy into the process’. Barriers with regard to achievement of the goal included the (lack of) reading culture and the difficulties of ‘reaching’ remote communities in local languages.

Healthcare Information For All by 2015: Fifth Campaign Planning Meeting (First Steering Group meeting)

The 5th Campaign Meeting (First Steering Group meeting) was held at the Royal College of Nursing, London, on Thursday 11th January 2007.

Participants
Kate Brincklow (Institute of Development Studies)
Fred Bukachi (Global Healthcare Information Network)
David Chandler (TALC) notes
Ed Cooper (International Child Health Group/CHILD2015)
Shane Godbolt (Partnerships in Health Information)
Robert Hughes (Medsin; International Federation of Medical Students Associations)
Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Global Healthcare Information Network)
Jonathan Parker (Independent) meeting chair
Rachel Stancliffe (Global Healthcare Information Network)

By phone:
Mohamed Atani (WHO African Regional Office, Brazzaville, Congo)
Ibrahima Bob (AHILA, Dakar, Senegal)

There was extensive discussion regarding the foundation document. It was agreed that the principle use of the document should be to state the clear aims and objectives of the organisation and the campaign. This document should form the basis for other abbreviated material for enlisting supporters and potential donors. It was agreed to prepare a working draft available in time for the IFMSA meeting in Perth, Australia, March 2007.

A Gantt chart of campaign activities was presented and it was agreed that this should be used as a basis for the campaign and included in the draft Foundation Document

There was discussion regarding how medical students worldwide could be involved in HIFA2015 activities, including electives to do information research in developing countries.

The need for a HIFA2015 Knowledge Base was reaffirmed. This would synthesise current understanding of the information needs of primary and district health workers, and the effectiveness of different methods of creating and exchanging healthcare knowledge for different end-user groups. GHI-net was compiling a preliminary literature review on Medline, with a small amount of funding from ProCOR. This could be expanded in the future in collaboration with, for example, African Index Medicus and AHILA. HIFA2015 members themselves could be involved in the creation of the resource by collaborative technologies such as wiki.

It was reconfirmed that the Knowledge Base concept is specifically about health information needs assessments and related material, and is not a repository or gateway to recommended health information resources.

Telephone conference: It was suggested that AHILA, AIM and HIFA2015 could work together to develop a literature review of the health information needs of frontline healthcare providers in Africa. This will enable the development of the knowledge base which in turn will: (1) help others worldwide to develop more effective health information activities; and (2) provide a robust basis for advocacy to promote increased investment in the creation and exchange of primary healthcare information materials and services.

A statement was given on behalf of AHILA, calling for HIFA2015 to focus on a range of health information advocacy functions, and setting out a framework for AHILA collaboration in ‘Healthcare Information For All in Africa by 2015’.

Healthcare Information For All by 2015: Fourth Campaign Planning Meeting

The 4th Campaign Meeting was held at the British Medical Association, London, on Thursday 23rd November 2006.

Participants
Tim Beanland (Wellcome Trust)
Fred Bukachi (Global Healthcare Information Network) (Chair)
Shane Godbolt (Partnerships in Health Information)
Fiona Godlee (BMJ)
Charlotte May (BMA)
Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Global Healthcare Information Network)
Abi Smith (Medsin)
Rachel Stancliffe (Global Healthcare Information Network)
Mark Starr (Update Software)
Chris Watts (Liverpool John Moores University)

We reviewed the launch of the campaign at the AHILA Congress in Mombasa, 26th October, and progress made since then. The launch had been highly successful and AHILA had confirmed its engagement with the HIFA2015 Campaign in its formal Resolutions, which emphasised the importance of access to health information in rural areas.

It was noted that some participants at the launch had anticipated a detailed plan of action, while others welcomed the opportunity to shape the campaign from the beginning by joining and contributing to the HIFA2015 email forum. From the perspective of the HIFA2015 Steering Group, there is a need to find the right balance between being directive and providing a general facilitatory framework to facilitate achievement of the Campaign.

The successful launch of the global campaign in Africa had reinforced the sense that it would be valuable to identify an apporpriate regional partner to hold a separate launch in the South Asia region.
 
The HIFA2015 email list had been launched on 9th October and already had more than 300 members. CHILD2015 had continued to grow also, with more than 400 members.

It was agreed that a brief one-off publication would benefit the campaign. The report would outline/detail campaign aims and objectives, info about GHI-Net, history of campaign, information about steering group etc.

It would also be useful to have a literature review to understand information needs. This could also be a synthesis of what we know has worked – for example case studies – this will add to advocacy and get input from the community

It was agreed to proceed with the following model for campaign steering / consultation:

• Steering group (circa 10 people)
• Advisory Panel (circa 30 advisors with specific expertise)
• HIFA2015 community (email group)

 

Healthcare Information For All by 2015: Third Campaign Planning Meeting

The 3rd Campaign Planning Meeting was held at the Wellcome Trust, London, with a phone link to Nairobi, New Delhi and Colombo, on 20th September 2006.

Participants
Tim Beanland (Wellcome Trust)
Fred Bukachi (Global Healthcare Information Network) (chair, teleconference)
Prita Chathoth (WHO, Sri Lanka) - from Colombo by phone
Meenakshi Gautham (Independent researcher/consultant, New Delhi) - from New Delhi by phone
Shane Godbolt (Partnerships in Health Information)
Nancy Kamau (Coordinator, AHILA Congress) - from Nairobi by phone
Charlotte May (BMA)
David Morley (TALC)
Ayo Onatola (St Christopher's College of Medicine, Luton)
Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Global Healthcare Information Network) (chair, meeting)
Abi Smith (Medsin)
Rachel Stancliffe (Global Healthcare Information Network)
Chris Watts (Liverpool John Moores University)

Progress reported since the 2nd meeting included:

• AHILA formally joined as a HIFA2015 Supporting Organisation
• HIFA2015 had been presented at the Geneva Forum: Towards Global Access to Health (1st September 2006)
• A contract with ProCOR had been finalised to carry out a literature review on information needs of healthcare providers, and various collaborators had already been found to help with this, including the Medlars Centre in New Delhi.
• CHILD2015 e-Forum is developing well and membership has grown to more than 200
• Dr Tikki Pang (Director of Research Policy and Cooperation, WHO HQ) has provided a formal Letter of Support for the HIFA2015 campaign on behalf of WHO; the letter may be used as required to further the purpose of HIFA2015

We discussed preparations for the launch of the Campaign in collaboration with the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa, at the AHILA Congress, Mombasa, on 26th October.

We discussed priorities in health information for primary and district healthcare providers in South Asia, and in particular India and Sri Lanka. It was suggested that a regional launch should be held in South Asia in early 2007.

It was suggested we should go ahead and activate www.hifa2015.org domain. This could link through to the campaign page on the GHI-net site for now, with a view to an independent site with its own identity/branding later. It was agreed to place an Application Form for HIFA2015 Supporting Organisations on the HIFA2015 campaign page.

It was agreed there was a need for a defined ‘HIFA2015 interim steering group’ (ISG) and a larger ‘HIFA2015 advisory group’.  

It was suggested that UK medical students might be involved in the campaign in some way as part of their elective period, BSc or other part of training. This could be, for example, in a research capacity (health information research in a developing country), research synthesis (building the HIFA2015 Knowledge Base), and/or communications and advocacy work.

 

Healthcare Information For All by 2015: Second Campaign Planning Meeting

The second Campaign Planning Meeting was held at the Royal College of Nursing, London, with a phone link to Nairobi, on 7th August 2006.

Participants
Fred Bukachi (Global Healthcare Information Network) (chair)
David Chandler (TALC)
Shane Godbolt (Partnerships in Health Information)
Nancy Kamau (Coordinator, AHILA Congress) - from Nairobi, by phone
Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Global Healthcare Information Network)

We discussed collaboration with AHILA (Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa) and arrangements for the Launch of HIFA2015 at AHILA Congress, Mombasa, 23-27 October 2006. The launch would take place on the morning of Thursday 26th October

It was also agreed that we should set up a HIFA2015 email group, to be started 2-3 weeks before HIFA2015 launch.

It was suggested it would be valuable to list ‘supporting organisations’ on the HIFA2015 campaign web page. An application form would be created for potential supporting organisations.

It was agreed a joint funding proposal would be desirable to collate and synthesise existing knowledge on health information needs and methods to address those needs.

 

Healthcare Information For All by 2015: First Campaign Planning Meeting

The first HIFA2015 Campaign Planning Meeting was held at the BMJ Editorial Offices, London, on 13th June 2006.

Participants
Stephen Allen (International Child Health Group)
Tim Beanland (Wellcome Trust)
Ibrahima Bob (Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa)
Kate Brincklow (Institute of Development Studies)
Frederick Bukachi (Global Healthcare Information Network)
David Chandler (Teaching-aids at Low Cost, TALC)
Shane Godbolt (Partnerships in Health Information)
Fiona Godlee (Editor, BMJ)
Edwin Mapara (Former chief medical officer of Athlone Hospital, Botswana)
David Morley (Teaching-aids at Low Cost, TALC)
Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Coordinator, Global Healthcare Information Network)
Rachel Stancliffe (Co-Director, Global Healthcare Information Network)

The meeting introduced the HIFA2015 concept, and discussed the questions: Why a campaign? What are we trying to achieve? How will we do it?

The  HIFA2015 concept is framed around seven key points:
1. We live in the ‘information age’ but the reality is that most healthcare providers continue to lack the information they need to deliver effective health care.
2. The focus of all our efforts should be to meet the ‘seismic’ needs of healthcare providers: skills, equipment, information, structural support, medicines, incentives, and communication facilities.
3. The specific focus of HIFA2015 is to meet the information needs of frontline healthcare providers, particularly household carers, and primary and district level health workers. Their needs have been relatively ignored as compared with ‘high-level’ professionals and researchers.
4. In order to meet the information needs of healthcare providers, we need a better understanding of their needs, and what works and what doesn’t work in attempting to meet those needs.
5. The goal of ‘Healthcare Information For All by 2015’ was first articulated in The Lancet in 2004. The authors had called on WHO to ‘take the lead in championing the goal of “Universal access to essential health-care
information by 2015” or “Health Information for All”.’ Since 2004, worldwide efforts to improve availability and use of information for frontline healthcare providers continue to be poorly coordinated and ineffective. GHI-net is therefore calling for all interested organizations, including WHO, to work together to address the issue.
6. An early task of the Campaign is to define the goal of ‘healthcare information for all by 2015’ and identify how we can measure progress towards that goal.
7. The Campaign will aim not only to lever more funding for health information activities worldwide, but also to ensure that such information activities are more cost-effective. A key aspect of the Campaign must be to build a robust evidence base on information needs and how to address them. To build the picture of what works and what does not, we need better communication among all stakeholder groups, especially healthcare providers themselves.

What are we trying to achieve, and why?
Research has been published in The Lancet, which clearly identifies how many children were dying worldwide, where they were dying, and why. There is also a short list of interventions that would save most of these lives. What is missing is the understanding of how to ensure these interventions are implemented. A key aspect of this is to ensure that healthcare providers at all levels (and especially at household, primary, district levels) know what to do in case of illness or injury, and when to seek help.

A recent visit by Dr Frederick Bukachi to primary and district facilities in rural Kenya, where he had worked as a medical officer 20 years previously, had confirmed there had been no improvement in availability of healthcare information during that time.

How will we do it?
We agreed there is a need for an advocacy approach underpinned by a clear evidence base.

Participants agreed the need to collate and synthesise the formal and informal literature on information needs and methodologies - including what has worked and what has not, and evaluations of existing projects and programmes. What is the available evidence in the areas of availability and use of information, education and learning, research to practice? What is already available as systematic reviews?

There is also a need to do new health information research: to map the ‘epidemiology of healthcare information’ - where are the main deficiencies, geographically and professionally.

How can we measure progress?
One way to measure progress might be to simply conduct serial surveys with stakeholders to assess the degree to which availability and use of healthcare information is seen as a significant barrier to the delivery of care. Another possibility includes random sampling of healthcare providers at primary and district health facilities. 

Engaging stakeholders
There was discussion about how to engage mothers/household carers, primary health workers, and district level health staff, including how these vital groups could be represented on the steering group.

It was felt the Steering Group should aim to be representative of all main stakeholder groups involved in the creation, exchange and use of healthcare information, perhaps using as a guide the information cycle illustrated in Godlee et al 2004 Lancet article. It was equally important to have global representation.