I thought I should share this article that I saw while reading AfroPHC Rural Health platform. It is on the exciting news in a recent Lancet Editorial that HIFA Moderator, Neil shared with us a few days ago:
‘The Lancet Global Health: Editorial: Contemporary challenges to health information for all
Our lives are profoundly shaped by health information. Warning labels and high taxes on tobacco, regular physical exercise, and adherence to medication for blood pressure control are collective and individual decisions made on the basis of reliable health information. A recent WHO-commissioned survey by the global social movement Healthcare Information For All (HIFA) highlights the crucial role of universal access to health information in global population health and the urgent need for a strategy to this end.
https://www.hifa.org/sites/default/files/other_publications_uploads/HIFA...
20 years ago, in an article in The Lancet that led to the formation of HIFA, Fiona Godlee and colleagues presented an inspiring vision that is health information for all by 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16681-6 Unfortunately, we remain distant from this goal in 2024. Universal access to health information is a complex endeavour that requires an effective translation cycle of multiple interconnected components: from assessment of knowledge gaps to research, to raw data, to rigorous evidence synthesis, to dissemination via suitable mediums, to individual knowledge and beliefs, and ultimately to treatment decisions, behavioural changes, and policy reforms. Any weak link in the cycle can undermine the end goal.
First, ensuring that health information is accurate, reliable, and up-to-date is challenging in the face of information overload. The exponential increase in published scientific papers hinders the identification of the most relevant and recent health information by upstream actors in the cycle such as policymakers, health professionals, and science journalists. The situation is exacerbated by the circulation of pre-prints that do not have the quality assurance of peer review and editing.
Contemporary challenges to health information for all https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(24)00336-X/fulltext ’
Joseph Ana.
Prof Joseph Ana
Lead Senior Fellow/ medical consultant.
Center for Clinical Governance Research &
Patient Safety (ACCGR&PS) @ HRI GLOBAL
P: +234 (0) 8063600642
E: info@hri-global.org
8 Amaku Street, State Housing, Calabar, Nigeria.
www.hri-global.org
HIFA Profile: Joseph Ana is the Lead Senior Fellow/Medical Consultant at the Centre for Clinical Governance Research and Patient Safety (CCGR&PS) with Headquarters in Calabar, Nigeria, established by HRI Global (former HRIWA). He is the Country Coordinator for PACK Nigeria (Practical Approach to Care Kit) which is specifically designed to improve clinical competence (improving accuracy of diagnosis and treatment) in primary health care. He is also a Member of the World Health Organisation’s Technical Advisory Group on Integrated Care in primary, emergency, operative, and critical care (TAG-IC2). As the Cross River State Commissioner for Health (2004-2008), Joseph Ana led the introduction of the evidence based, homegrown quality tool, the 12-Pillar Clinical Governance Programme (12-PCGP) in Nigeria, which also suitable for lower-, low-, and middle income countries (LLMIC) with similar weak health sector and system. To ensure sustainability of 12-PCGP, the ‘Department of Clinical Governance, Servicom & e-health’ was established in Cross River State Ministry of Health in 2007. His main interest is in ‘Whole health sector and system strengthening in LLMICs’. He has written six books on the 12-Pillar Clinical Governance Programme, including the TOOLS manual for its Implementation, currently in its 2nd Edition. He served as Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association’s Standing Committee on Clinical Governance (2012-2022), and he won the Association’s ‘Award of Excellence’ on three consecutive occasions for the innovation of 12-PCGP in Nigeria. He served as Chairman, Quality & Performance subcommittee of the Technical Working Group for the implementation of the Nigeria Health Act 2014. He was Member, National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee (NTISC) of the Federal Ministry of Health, 2017-2022. He is the pioneer Secretary General/Trustee-Director of the Charity, NMF (Nigerian Medical Forum UK) which took the BMJ to West Africa in 1995. Joseph is a member of the HIFA Steering Group; the HIFA working group on Community Health Workers, and the Working Group on HIFA-WHO Collaboration (http://www.hifa.org/support/members/joseph-0 http://www.hifa.org/people/steering-group). Email: info AT hri-global.org and jneana AT yahoo.co.uk
