Awareness and use of reference managers by resident doctors in Nigeria

Reference manager (RM) also known as reference management software (RMS) are tools used by researchers to organize and manage bibliographic references. They are citation tools that enable researchers to track the scientific papers they have read, sources consulted, cited and used to generate a reference list or bibliography. This study investigated the awareness and pattern of use of RM tools by Resident Doctors (RDs) in Nigeria. Cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study and semi-structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. Respondents' age was 35.9 ± 5.0, (53.8%) were males. Most of the respondents (92.9%) had heard of RM, 49.1% had ever used any RM with Mendeley topping the list (49.1%). However, many of the respondents (42.8%) did not use RM due to lack of requisite skills, while only (35.1%) respondents had ever received formal training on use of RM. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that awareness should be regularly created to encourage resident doctors to apply their knowledge of the tools in the management of their references while training should be conducted for those who do not use the tools.

Immunization Monitoring and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Surveillance Data Management in the African Region

Countries in the WHO African Regionhave well-established national immunization programmes and disease control programmes working towards the different goals for the control of vaccine-preventable diseases; and generating coverage and surveillance data. WHO provides technical support to standardize the approaches; methodology; and tools used for data management. The datasets are shared with WHO for purposes of monitoring the coverage and disease trends across the Region. This article reviews the methods WHO employs to build capacity in this field of data management across the Region and the resultant achievements and gaps. Despite the recent improvements in some aspects of data quality; important policy; technical and managerial gaps remain; which need to be addressed in order to ensure that the data coming out of these national programmes are of optimal quality

Resources, indicators, data management, dissemination and use in health information systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: results of a questionnaire-based survey

OBJECTIVE:To describe the status of health information systems in 14 sub-Saharan African countries of the World Health Organization African Region.DESIGN:A questionnaire-based survey.SETTING:Fourteen sub-Saharan African countries of the African Region.PARTICIPANTS:Key informants in the ministries of health, national statistics offices, health programmes, donors and technical agencies.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:State of resources, indicators, data sources, data management, information products, dissemination and use of health information.RESULTS:The highest average score was in the identification and harmonisation of indicators (73%), reflecting successful efforts to identify priority indicators and reach international consensus on indicators for several diseases. This was followed by information products (63%), which indicated the availability of accurate and reliable data. The lowest score (41%) was in data management, the ability to collect, store, analyse and distribute data, followed by resources - policy and planning, human and financial resources, and infrastructure (53%). Data sources (e.g. censuses, surveys) were on average inadequate with a score of 56%. The average score for dissemination and use of health information was 57%, which indicated limited or inadequate use of data for advocacy, planning and decision-making. CONCLUSIONS:National health information systems are weak in the surveyed countries and much more needs to be done to improve the quality and relevance of data, and their management, sharing and use for policy-making and decision-making

Data-Protection Standards and Confidentiality of HIV/AIDS Status in the Workplace : a South African Case Study

The article contextualises an emerging new regime for information privacy in South Africa (i.e. the draft Protection of Personal Information Bill). Subsequently; it discusses the possibility of successful implementation of international data-protection standards in an environment where there is an urgent need to balance HIV/AIDS confidentiality rights with public health requirements. Also; the article presents a preliminary assessment of the possible impact of professionalisation (and outsourcing) of workplace HIV/AIDS management on workplace data-protection practices; and it identifies some spaces for social dialogue on HIV/AIDS-data treatment in South Africa. The study methods comprise an analysis of legal documents (concerning international data-protection standards and the development of law governing data protection and HIV/AIDS confidentiality in South Africa) and interviews conducted with workplace health managers and trade union representatives; in Johannesburg; in 2007