Colleagues,
Welcome to Week 3. Over the past two weeks, we located our fragmented data and built the surveillance frameworks to capture it. Now, we face a different problem: having data is not the same as having insight.
This week, we are looking at Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Population Analytics. As clinicians, you are trained to diagnose the patient. This week, we use data visualization to diagnose the system. We will learn how to aggressively filter out "vanity metrics" and design dashboards that actually tell us where the system is failing our patients.
Your Commitment This Week: ~2 Hours
- Watch: Video 1: The Power of 'Where' and Video 2: Dashboards that Drive Action.
- Engage: Head to the discussion board. Let’s talk about practical digital outreach. How can simple tools (like SMS or WhatsApp) solve the clinical drop-offs you see daily?.
- Submit:Download the Week 3 Job Aid (attached here). You are designing the executive dashboard for the Imo State screening initiative. No coding required—just pure, strategic, architectural thinking.
Let's make the data speak.
Curated Reading List
These two resources bypass the theoretical and focus on the practical deployment of analytics and digital health in the Global South.
- Resource 1: The use of mobile health (mHealth) for cervical cancer screening in Low-and Middle-Income Countries (A Scoping Review).
- Why you should read it: This is a reality check on digital health. It outlines exactly which interventions actually work (like SMS reminders reducing loss-to-follow-up) and which ones are just expensive distractions.
- Resource 2: Geographic disparities in access to cancer care in Sub-Saharan Africa (Case Studies).
- Why you should read it: A perfect primer on why GIS matters. It proves that in your operating environment, distance to a facility is often a stronger predictor of mortality than the biology of the tumor itself.