Abstract
BackgroundWith the growth of information technology, there is a need for the evaluation of cost-effective means of monitoring and support of field workers involved in large epidemiological surveys.AimThe aim of this research was to measure the performance of a survey help desk that used knowledge management tools to improve its productivity and efficiency. Knowledge management tools are based on information technologies that improve the creation, sharing, and use of different types of knowledge that are critical for effective decision-making.MethodsThe Saudi National Mental Health Survey’s help desk developed and used specific knowledge management tools including a computer file system, feedback from experts and a call ticketing system. Results are based on the analyses of call records recorded by help desk agents in the call ticketing system using descriptive analysis, Wilcoxon rank-sum test (p < 0.01) and Goodman and Kruscal test (gamma). The call records were divided into two phases and included details such as types of calls, priority level and resolution time.ResultsThe average time to resolve a reported problem decreased overall, decreased at each priority level and led to increased first contact resolution.ConclusionThis study is the first of its kind to show how the use of knowledge management tools lead to a more efficient and productive help desk within a health survey environment in Saudi Arabia. Further research on help desk performance, particularly within health survey environments and the Middle Eastern region is needed to support this conclusion.
Highlights
With the growth of information technology, there is a need for the evaluation of cost-effective means of monitoring and support of field workers involved in large epidemiological surveys
Help desks are composed of help desk support staff, referred to here as agents, whose primary objective is to serve as a single point of contact for users to gain access to informational technology (IT)-related advice, information and troubleshooting problems [1] and other assistance, often in real-time
A help desk team was established to ensure that the field team and all the project members were supported by technical experts, who managed all the survey software and hardware tools used in the project and successfully resolved any technical and operational issues
Summary
With the growth of information technology, there is a need for the evaluation of cost-effective means of monitoring and support of field workers involved in large epidemiological surveys. The Saudi National Mental Health Survey (SNMHS) conducted a nationally representative psychiatric epidemiological survey of over 4000 participants in Saudi Arabia. This initiative is part of the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. Given the magnitude and complexity of our survey, using state of the art technology, a help desk support team was established mainly to facilitate fieldwork operations by recording, tracking and solving reported incidents, such as hardware, software, and logistical issues, encountered by the field staff during the data collection process as well as receiving inquiries from the public. Help desks provide frontline support to clients, employees and interested stakeholders and record each contact into an incident database [2]. Help desks often implement a number of processes and procedures to improve their efficiency, such as incident management (i.e. the recording, tracking, and solving of reported incidents) [2]
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