Designing And Conducting Health System Research Projects

This two-volume set presents a course outline, in modular format, that deals step-by-step with the development of a Health Systems Research (HSR) proposal and field testing (Part 1) and with data analysis and report writing (Part 2).

Health Systems Research (HSR) has proven to be a useful tool for health decision makers at all levels over the past 20 years, providing them with the necessary data for informed decision making. "Designing and Conducting Health System Research Projects" for health practitioners, presents a course outline, in modular format, that deals step-by-step with the development of an HSR proposal and field testing (Part I) and with data analysis and report writing (Part II). The unanticipated application of the modules in academic as well as health management circles led to rapid exhaustion of the 1991 edition and the several subsequent reprints. The different groups of users also made many useful suggestions for change, which needed elaborating. The HSR Unit in AFRO, with agreement from IDRC therefore decided to organise a revision of the HSR modules. An interdisciplinary group of Southern African researchers carried out the revisions in two workshops in 1998 and 1999, and two of the three original editors finalised the present version. IDRC kept the end responsibility for the publication, which was financed by AFRO and IDRC and published by KIT.

Designing and Conducting Health Surveys is written for students, teachers, researchers, and anyone who conducts health surveys. This third edition of the standard reference in the field draws heavily on the most recent methodological research on survey design and the rich storehouse of insights and implications provided by cognitive research on question and questionnaire design in particular. This important resource presents a total survey error framework that is a useful compass for charting the dangerous waters between systematic and random errors that inevitably accompany the survey design enterprise. In addition, three new studies based on national, international, and state and local surveys—the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, California Health Interview Survey, and National Dental Malpractice Survey—are detailed that illustrate the range of design alternatives available at each stage of developing a survey and provide a sound basis for choosing among them.

Health Systems Research Training Series: Volume 2, Part 2: Data Analysis and report writing

This practical, accessible guide walks you through the process of designing your own study and writing your research proposal

Healthcare decision makers in search of reliable information that compares health interventions increasingly turn to systematic reviews for the best summary of the evidence. Systematic reviews identify, select, assess, and synthesize the findings of similar but separate studies, and can help clarify what is known and not known about the potential benefits and harms of drugs, devices, and other healthcare services. Systematic reviews can be helpful for clinicians who want to integrate research findings into their daily practices, for patients to make well-informed choices about their own care, for professional medical societies and other organizations that develop clinical practice guidelines. Too often systematic reviews are of uncertain or poor quality. There are no universally accepted standards for developing systematic reviews leading to variability in how conflicts of interest and biases are handled, how evidence is appraised, and the overall scientific rigor of the process. In Finding What Works in Health Care the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends 21 standards for developing high-quality systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research. The standards address the entire systematic review process from the initial steps of formulating the topic and building the review team to producing a detailed final report that synthesizes what the evidence shows and where knowledge gaps remain. Finding What Works in Health Care also proposes a framework for improving the quality of the science underpinning systematic reviews. This book will serve as a vital resource for both sponsors and producers of systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research.