Geo-Referenced Health Information for Maternal and Child Health Planning in Urban Bangladesh

This research will provide evidence to enhance understanding of how geo-referenced health facility information can inform maternal and child health service planning and decision-making in Bangladesh. Geo-referenced data associates information with a physical space or location. This information can improve data synthesis and feed into health planning by decision-makers, including health ministries. Limited information for health planning National health management information systems in lower- and middle-income countries are generally limited to information on public sector health services, yet private health services account for the majority of service provision. These systems rarely have basic information, such as health facility location, on private providers in South Asia. This knowledge is important for health planning. Efforts aligned with new government health system The Urban Health Group at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh will carry out the research. The group has developed a geo-referenced information platform for urban services to complement the existing health management information system. Known as the Urban Health Atlas, it facilitates data synthesis and communication to support health planning. At the same time, the Bangladesh Directorate General of Health Services is implementing District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS 2) in line with the government's commitment to a digital Bangladesh. The system is based on information on public health facilities, which are mostly located in rural areas. With the exception of large public hospitals and some non-governmental organizations, there is no centralized data for private health facilities offering the majority of services in urban areas. The Urban Health Atlas fills this important gap. Information in the hands of decision-makers This study will document how to make geo-referenced health facility information more accessible and useful to heath planners and decision-makers. It will identify the processes involved in generating policy uptake. The project will also use best practices to develop skills and knowledge to promote the use of health information in planning maternal and child health services. The research team will: -assess information needs -conduct a task review analysis of information users -map stakeholders -estimate cost The project will provide valuable guidance to other developing countries on how to generate user buy-in and policy uptake to introduce, scale up, and sustain maternal and child health related technologies in national health information systems.