A Health Data Science Exchange

Scalable data science assets to support health system performance

Through health system strengthening efforts, countries and their supporting partners are identifying new tools and approaches to accelerate progress. With global targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals, countries are placing a great emphasis on tools and approaches that can contribute to the attainment of health equity and universal health coverage.

There is increasing demand from health system managers, policymakers, and investors to use data science tools and approaches alongside digital technologies for health system strengthening. Ensuring these tools and approaches are accessible and curated for these stakeholders is an important, but absent, resource in the global health sector.

Health Data Science Exchange.

To accelerate the appropriate use of data science tools and approaches, stakeholders would benefit from a platform where they can convene to learn about existing data science assets, how data assets can be harnessed most efficiently in countries, and who supports innovation in this space. A Health Data Science Exchange could provide such a solution.

Use Cases

Three use cases were developed to illustrate the types data science assets and translation resources that could be included in a Health Data Science Exchange.

These use cases capture where data science approaches have been applied in low-resource settings to strengthen health systems. Each use case was focused on implementation of data science approaches related to data capture, data transformation, and/or data for impact. From these three use cases, an initial, curated set of data science assets and a classification schema to organize the assets were developed.

ICT for Frontline Workers

CARE International introduced an ICT CCS intervention in Bihar, India, beginning in mid-2012 to increase the coverage and quality of services that FLWs provide, enhance their communication with beneficiaries, and facilitate supervision of FLWs.

THINKMD

THINKMD developed a digital health point-of-care tool to support FLWs to assess, diagnose, and treat patients.

Visualize No Malaria

PATH, the Tableau Foundation, and the Government of Zambia launched a partnership in 2015 to integrate new tools and systems for data use to support the Zambian Ministry of Health in its effort to bring the malaria incidence rate down to zero

The Health Data Science Exchange exploratory work was prepared under the Digital Square initiative by PATH staff and funded by The Rockefeller Foundation.