TY - JOUR
T1 - Health data ecosystem in Pakistan
T2 - A multisectoral qualitative assessment of needs and opportunities
AU - Mahmood, Sana
AU - Noorali, Ali Aahil
AU - Manji, Afshan
AU - Afzal, Noreen
AU - Abbas, Saadia
AU - Qamar, Javeria Bilal
AU - Siddiqi, Sameen
AU - Hoodbhoy, Zahra
AU - Virani, Salim S.
AU - Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.
AU - Samad, Zainab
N1 - Funding Information:
Dr ZS reports research grant support from the NIH-Fogarty International Center for the AKUPI-NCDs Research training program (Project Number 5D43TW011625-02) and UZIMA DS (U54TW012089); the NIHR, UK for the Centre for IMPACT (NIHR203248); Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (INV 021944 & INV 050389); and Duke University. Dr SV MD, PhD, FACC, FAHA, FASPC Research support: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institutes of Health, World Heart Federation, Tahir and Jooma Family; Honorarium: American College of Cardiology American College of Cardiology (Associate Editor for Innovations, acc.org); Associate Editor (Current Atherosclerosis Reports, Current Cardiology reports, Journal of Clinical Lipidology). Dr ZB MBBS, FRCPCH, FAAP, PhD Executive Director of NCD Child.
Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.
PY - 2023/9/21
Y1 - 2023/9/21
N2 - Objective Data are essential for tracking and monitoring of progress on health-related sustainable development goals (SDGs). But the capacity to analyse subnational and granular data is limited in low and middle-income countries. Although Pakistan lags behind on achieving several health-related SDGs, its health information capacity is nascent. Through an exploratory qualitative approach, we aimed to understand the current landscape and perceptions on data in decision-making among stakeholders of the health data ecosystem in Pakistan. Design We used an exploratory qualitative study design. Setting This study was conducted at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. Participants We conducted semistructured, in-depth interviews with multidisciplinary and multisectoral stakeholders from academia, hospital management, government, Non-governmental organisations and other relevant private entities till thematic saturation was achieved. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, followed by thematic analysis using NVivo. Results Thematic analysis of 15 in-depth interviews revealed three major themes: (1) institutions are collecting data but face barriers to its effective utilisation for decision-making. These include lack of collection of needs-responsive data, lack of a gender/equity in data collection efforts, inadequate digitisation, data reliability and limited analytical ability; (2) there is openness and enthusiasm for sharing data for advancing health; however, multiple barriers hinder this including appropriate regulatory frameworks, platforms for sharing data, interoperability and defined win-win scenarios; (3) there is limited capacity in the area of both human capital and infrastructure, for being able to use data to advance health, but there is appetite to improve and invest in capacity in this area. Conclusions Our study identified key areas of focus that can contribute to orient a national health data roadmap and ecosystem in Pakistan.
AB - Objective Data are essential for tracking and monitoring of progress on health-related sustainable development goals (SDGs). But the capacity to analyse subnational and granular data is limited in low and middle-income countries. Although Pakistan lags behind on achieving several health-related SDGs, its health information capacity is nascent. Through an exploratory qualitative approach, we aimed to understand the current landscape and perceptions on data in decision-making among stakeholders of the health data ecosystem in Pakistan. Design We used an exploratory qualitative study design. Setting This study was conducted at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. Participants We conducted semistructured, in-depth interviews with multidisciplinary and multisectoral stakeholders from academia, hospital management, government, Non-governmental organisations and other relevant private entities till thematic saturation was achieved. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, followed by thematic analysis using NVivo. Results Thematic analysis of 15 in-depth interviews revealed three major themes: (1) institutions are collecting data but face barriers to its effective utilisation for decision-making. These include lack of collection of needs-responsive data, lack of a gender/equity in data collection efforts, inadequate digitisation, data reliability and limited analytical ability; (2) there is openness and enthusiasm for sharing data for advancing health; however, multiple barriers hinder this including appropriate regulatory frameworks, platforms for sharing data, interoperability and defined win-win scenarios; (3) there is limited capacity in the area of both human capital and infrastructure, for being able to use data to advance health, but there is appetite to improve and invest in capacity in this area. Conclusions Our study identified key areas of focus that can contribute to orient a national health data roadmap and ecosystem in Pakistan.
KW - PUBLIC HEALTH
KW - QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
KW - Quality in health care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85171955439&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-071616
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-071616
M3 - Article
C2 - 37734897
AN - SCOPUS:85171955439
SN - 2044-6055
VL - 13
JO - BMJ Open
JF - BMJ Open
IS - 9
M1 - e071616
ER -
