Research Institute for Social Sciences

I am a part time PhD student at Keele University investigating whether the cultural differences, that are known to exist between countries, affect the attitudes of professionals in health towards the development and use of information systems.  The study was motivated by the perceived failure of health information systems to deliver expected benefits, in particular in international developments, and also by the perception that attitudes of health sector professionals, who are current and potential users of the systems, can have an impact on the success or failure of these systems.

Both structured group discussions and a self completion questionnaire were used in this investigation. As well as drawing on previous research on attitudes, a participative approach was taken to the development of the questions to be used, to reduce ethnocentricity in the design.  Participants in the study were professionals working in the health sector in Georgia, Tajikistan, Uganda and UK, and professionals in other countries assisted in the study design and group discussions. 

As well as highlighting cross country differences, the results have identified some significant issues in relation to the attitudes of health sector professionals towards information systems developments, common to all countries.  The investigation has also led to the development of approaches, suitable for use in a cross cultural setting, that facilitate the identification of the attitudes of users towards information systems.  These approaches can help to address the real-world problems faced when implementing health information systems by assisting in understanding the views of stakeholders to the systems, and how these views vary between different groups of staff or different countries. 

My first degree was in Statistics, and I subsequently gained a qualification at Masters level in Applied Statistics, and also a professional and academic qualification at degree level in Information Management and Technology within the health sector. 

After gaining my first degree, I lectured at a University in West Africa and then worked as a statistician in pharmaceutical research in the UK before joining the UK NHS as Regional Statistician for the South East Thames Regional Health Authority.  Subsequently, I was Director of Information Services at the South East Institute of Public Health, before working as an International Health Information Specialist.  I have worked on projects in Bangladesh, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Germany, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Uganda, Tanzania and Palestine.  I am currently chairman of the UK Health Statistics User Group.

My work, in the UK and internationally, has involved the collection, analysis and interpretation of health and health services information from a range of different sources.  My particular interest is in the identification of the information required to support the functions, and achieve the objectives, of health sector organisations, and in working with these organisations to develop strategies and information systems for ensuring delivery of the required information.

Conference Papers

• Paper on use of medical records presented at an Expert Seminar on Medical Records organised by ESRC Data Archive (1994);
• A paper on the way forward for public health consultancy work in the new Europe was presented at the European Public Health Association Conference in Budapest in December 1995
• Development of a health data archive for Bangladesh: an example of a cost effective and sustainable approach to information sharing in a developing country (paper to IASSIST Conference – Toronto May 1999, also published in IASSIST journal);
• Ensuring Sustainability of HR Information Systems Developments Through the Use of Integrated and Locally Appropriate Approaches - an Example from the Health Sector in Uganda, IST-Africa 2009 Conference Proceedings, IIMC International Information Management Corporation.
• A multi- country examination of approaches for investigating the attitudes of health care professionals towards the development and use of information systems, IST-Africa 2010 Conference Proceedings, IIMC International Information Management Corporation.

Publications

• Information Strategy for South East London Commissioning Agency and Lambeth Southwark and Lewisham FHSA - looking at both Health Authority and FHSA activities as part of the process of combining the two organisations (published as SEIPH report in 1992);
• Information Strategy for Kent Social Services - looking at community care activities and the information needed to support these (published as SEIPH report 1993);
• Information Strategy for Children's Services in Kent - an Overview (published as a SEIPH report in 1994);
• The Demise of Regions - where now for health information?  (Health Statistics User Group report - 1994);
• Information Strategy for East Sussex FHSA - looking at primary care activities and the information needed to support this (published as SEIPH report 1995);
• Analysis of asthma audit - looking at the knowledge of asthma patients visiting hospital, how this knowledge can be improved, and also how this knowledge affects the patient self management of the condition - article on this entitled "Effect of Patient Education on Asthma Management" was published in the British Journal of Nursing 26.1.95 by A. Brewin;
• Study Design for Pilot Study on Resource Mobilisation through User Fees (Bangladesh Health Economics Unit publication - 1995);
• Evaluation of the initial implementation of the Confidential Enquiry into Stillbirth and Death in Infancy  (CESDI) - report to Department of Health's National Advisory Board (1996);
• Review of the information needs of Public Health Departments in South Thames (East) (SEIPH Report 1996);
• Report of short-term consultancy visit to Ministry of Health in Bangladesh, including proposal for the development of a metadatabase covering all health related databases in Bangladesh (Bangladesh Health Economics Unit publication - 1996);
• Household Survey of health status and pharmaceutical usage in Russia as part of a project to develop a pharmaceutical strategy for Russia (part of report to Russian Ministry of Finance and to the EU - 1997);
• Influence of health policy and practices on health statistics - paper prepared for the Integrative Module of the Advanced Diploma of the Professional Awards for IM&T in Health (1997);
• Development of a Health Economics Database Archive for Bangladesh (Bangladesh Health Economics Unit Research Note 13 – August 1998);
• Framework for an Information Strategy for the Health Sector in Romania (part of report to the Romanian Ministry of Health and the EU – May 2000);
• Harnessing Official Statistics – Radcliffe Medical Press (part of the Harnessing Health Information series) – published October 2000  ISBN 1 85775 354 2;
• Health statistics systems – article in the International Encyclopaedia of the Social and Behavioural Sciences – published October 2001 by Elsevier Science Ltd;
• A Data and Information Strategy for Pro-Poor Health Planning, Targeting and Monitoring in Bangladesh.   Bangladesh Health Economics Unit P4 series, (2003);
• A Framework for Indicators.  Statistics User Council Conference on Measuring Government Performance (2003);
• Uganda 2002 Population and Housing Census: Special  analysis on health workers commissioned by the Developing Human Resources for Health Project  (December 2005);
• Monitoring and planning the deployment of health staff– how can the use of Occupational Codes help?; Developing Human Resources for Health Project (October 2007);