Performance measurement
Guide to monitoring and evaluating health information products and services
Measuring reach, usefulness, use, and collaboration and capacity building in public health
Authors:
T. M. Sullivan; M. Strachan; B. K. Timmons; W. Rinehart (ed); USAID; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Publisher:
Health Information and Publications Network , 2007
This guide, which resulted from a collaborative process involving members of HIPNET (Health Information and Publications Network), brings together knowledge about monitoring and evaluating information products and services from dozens of health organisations. The authors of this guide recognise that well crafted information products and services help assure that project implementation and lessons learned reach others trying to achieve similar results.
This guide organises indicators into four major categories, each of which represents a specific type of measurement: reach; usefulness; use; and collaboration and capacity building. These categories are further divided into areas, which group similar indicators. In this guide, the authors describe each indicator in detail, including a definition, data requirements, data sources, purposes, issues, and examples.
As demand for health resources in developing countries increases, the authors of this guide argue that it is imperative that high quality information products and services flow to health care practitioners and policymakers responsible for improving public health. The authors conclude that this guide if properly used shall facilitate consistent measurement, thereby enabling organisations and projects to more effectively benchmark their achievements, and streamline reporting to donors, among others.
