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HIFA2015:A virtual community of

purpose

Dr Neil Pakenham-Walsh

Coordinator, HIFA2015 and Chair, Dgroups Foundation Healthcare Information Network

neil@ghi-net.org

www.hifa2015.org

www.dgroups.org/hifa2015

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People are dying for lack of knowledge:

"Of the approximately 50 million people who were dying each year in the late 1980s, two-thirds (66%) could have been saved through the application

of health knowledge"

James Grant, UNICEF, 1993

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Studies in low-income countries…“suggest a gross lack of knowledge about

the basics of how to diagnose and manage common diseases, going right across the health workforce and often associated with suboptimal, ineffective and dangerous health care practices.”

Pakenham-Walsh N & Bukachi F. Information needs of health care workers in developing countries: aliterature review with a focus on Africa. Human Resources for Health 2009, 7:30

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The HIFA Vision:

“A world where every citizen and every health worker has access to the information they need to protect their own health and

the health of others” 

“HIFA2015 is an ambitious goal but it can be achieved

if all stakeholders work together.”

T. Pang, Director of Research Cooperation, WHO, 2006

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Global Healthcare Knowledge System

All stakeholders are interdependent

All stakeholders are part of the Global Healthcare Knowledge

System…

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All Stakeholders are part of the Global Healthcare Knowledge System:

Adapted from Fiona Godlee, Neil Pakenham-Walsh et al. Can we achieve health information for all by 2015?

The Lancet, 2004; 364:295-300

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All Stakeholders are part of the Global Healthcare Knowledge

System

Adapted from Fiona Godlee, Neil Pakenham-Walsh et al. Can we achieve health information for all by 2015?

The Lancet, 2004; 364:295-300

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Global Healthcare Knowledge System

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Global Healthcare Knowledge System

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Global Healthcare Knowledge System

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Global Healthcare Knowledge System

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Global Healthcare Knowledge System

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Global Healthcare Knowledge System

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Global Healthcare Knowledge System

The Knowledge System isn’t working, because there is:

1. Poor communication among stakeholders (frontline healthcare providers, researchers, publishers, systematic reviewers, producers of reference and learning materials,

librarians, information professionals) 2. Poor understanding of the drivers and barriers within the

system

3. Poor advocacy to persuade governments and funding agencies to invest in publishing and information services

HIFA addresses all 3 systemic weaknesses. How?...

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How will we achieve the HIFA vision?

Ref: www.hifa2015.org

Advocacy

Understanding

Communication

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How will we achieve the HIFA vision?

Ref: www.hifa2015.org

Advocacy

Understanding

Communication

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HIFA2015 Membership (2006-2013)

6,300

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6,000 members; 2,000 organisations; 167 countriesHealth professionals – Librarians – Information

Professionals – Publishers – Researchers – Policymakers

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How will we achieve the HIFA vision?

Ref: www.hifa2015.org

Advocacy

Understanding

Communication

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HIFA Voices HIFA Voices is an innovative database with two types of

content:

1. HIFA Quotations are short, verbatim extracts (<100 words) from HIFA messages, carefully selected according to pre-defined criteria.

2. HIFA Citations are bibliographic references to the health librarianship and information science literature, with a focus on the 57 countries (mostly in Africa) that are recognised to be in HRH crisis

3. The HIFA Voices database will drill “up” to major, conventional databases (eg HRH Global Resource Center), and “down” to the full text of the source message and discussion thread.

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HIFA Voices: Proof of Concept

Used by WHO to inform WHO Recommendations…

“As [HIFA Voices] evolves over the coming years, it has the potential to become a leading source of practical and experiential data to help inform future international guidelines by WHO and other organisations.“Dr Simon Lewin, WHO Guideline Development Group

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HIFA Advocacy

White Paper: Access to Health Information Under International Human Rights Law (2012)

Governments have a legal obligation under international human rights law to ensure that citizens and health workers have access to the information they need to protect their own health and the health of others.

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HIFA2015 Advocacy: Country Representatives

AfricaBurundiCameroonDR CongoEthiopia (2)Ghana (2)Kenya (2)MaliMalawiMauritiusMozambiqueNamibiaNigeria (8)Rwanda (2)SomaliaSouth AfricaTanzaniaUganda (3)ZambiaZimbabwe

Rest of WorldMalaysiaBangladeshCanada (2)ChinaDenmarkEgyptIndia (14)IrelandItalyKosovoMacedoniaMalaysiaNepalOmanPakistan (9)Philippines (3)United Arab EmiratesUSAWest Bank/Gaza

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HIFA Advocacy: Example ICDDR,Bangladesh:

“We are going to lose free access to HINARI journals in Bangladesh!!”

Outcry from HIFA members

Articles in BMJ and Lancet

Reinstatement of free access

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• HIFA2015 is a Dgroup

• There are more than 2000 Dgroups, all supporting knowledge sharing for health and development

• Email = Accessible = Inclusive

• Dgroups Foundation

• www.dgroups.info

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2006– 2009– 2010– 2011–

2006–

How do we engage non-English speakers?

• 5 Dgroups in 3 different languages, in collaboration with WHO and others• Parallel forums• Bilingual moderators

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How are we funded?

Income = $30,000 p.a.

1 fulltime staff

120 volunteers

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How do we evaluate what we do?

Formative evaluation vs Impact evaluation

Major External Evaluation (2011):

“HIFA2015 achieves an extraordinary level of activity on minimal resources from which many people around the world benefit”

http://www.hifa2015.org/about/monitoring-and-evaluation/

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Further readingGodlee F, Pakenham-Walsh N, Ncayiyana D, Cohen B, Packer A. Can we achieve health

information for all by 2015? Lancet 2004;364(9430):295-300 http://www.lancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(04)16681-6/fulltext

Pakenham-Walsh N. Healthcare Information for All by 2015: a community of purpose facilitated by Reader-Focused Moderation. Knowledge Management for Development Journal, Vol 3, No 1 (2007)http://journal.km4dev.org/index.php/km4dj/article/view/96

Pakenham-Walsh N & Bukachi F. Information needs of health care workers in developing countries: a literature review with a focus on Africa. Human Resources for Health 2009, 7:30doi:10.1186/1478-4491-7-30http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/7/1/30

Pakenham-Walsh N. Towards a Collective Understanding of the Information Needs of Health Care Providers in Low-Income Countries, and How to Meet Them. Journal of Health Communication, Volume 17, Supplement 2, 2012  DOI:10.1080/10810730.2012.666627http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10810730.2012.666627 (Open Access)

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How you can be involved

1. Join HIFA2015 forum: hifa2015.org

2. Become a HIFA Country Representative

3. Use HIFA as a basis for your dissertation

Thank you