The WHO support tool: how is it used and what kind of adaptations are needed?

Abstract

Abstract Issue and method In December 2013, the Standing Committee of the Regional Committee for Europe asked the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO EURO) to develop a practical tool for Member States that provides assistance in developing and improving national health information systems (HIS) through the development of a national health information strategy. The developed tool, the Support Tool, was informed by existing tools developed earlier by WHO’s Health Metrics Network and was adapted for the planned assessments in the WHO EURO region. The Support Tool was published in 2015 and was used until now for nine national HIS assessment missions. Results By using the Support tool all dimensions of a HIS are assessed: the general resources needed, the indicators used, the data sources available, the applied data management procedures, data quality, and the dissemination process and use of the HIS outputs. The Support Tool structures the assessment process and supports the identification of strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges that inform HIS strategy development in the second stage. Lessons So far, the application of the Support Tool had a strong focus on the assessment stage. It turned out that it is necessary to develop a joint understanding of what a HIS entails. The Support Tool offers great potential to start a structured dialogue with all actors linked to the HIS including policy makers. The assessment provides an opportunity for HIS strengthening and the development of a joint understanding. However, it turned also out that further adaptations of the assessment content are needed to better cover topics prevalent in European HISs, like electronic health records, modern IT-resources, modern reporting approaches, and knowledge translation.