INTRODUCING ESSENTIAL RESOURCE COLLECTION: DATA MANAGEMENT & DIGITAL HEALTH

Knowledge SUCCESS and the USAID COVID Response Team are excited to partner together in the curation of essential resources related to data management and digital health technologies in emergency response.

Why We Created This Collection

As with most public health emergencies, consistent and reliable information is essential in efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. Across the globe, digital health technologies are being leveraged to support communication and information sharing, disease monitoring and surveillance, and the delivery of healthcare services including the COVID-19 vaccine. 

Data management and digital health technologies are being used to address important questions relevant to COVID-19 pandemic response including, but not limited to:

• Where are infections spreading and what populations are most at risk?
• What is the capacity of health systems for testing and treating COVID-19 patients?
• Do health systems have a sufficient amount of ventilators, intensive care units (ICUs), and personal protective equipment (PPE)?
• What areas should be prioritized for targeted vaccination planning? 
• Where are there gaps in service coverage? What communities lack access to COVID-19 vaccines? 

The implementation of digital health solutions in COVID-19 response is critical for increasing our understanding of the disease, improving health system capacities for diagnosis and treatment, and slowing the spread of infections. To support national governments, health care workers, decision makers, researchers, and implementing partners in accessing the power that digital information systems can offer, Knowledge SUCCESS has curated this collection of essential resources. 

The intention of this collection is to assist professionals in 1) examining the role of digital health technologies in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, 2) addressing gaps in the application of these technologies, and 3) adapting and deploying digital tools to support program monitoring and data collection in their own contexts.

How We Chose the Resources

The Knowledge SUCCESS Team conducted a broad search for literature and initiatives related to health information systems (HIS), data, and digital strategies for COVID-19. With support from the USAID COVID Response team, the identified materials were pared down to a curated collection of the most essential resources for data management and digital health. 

The following criteria were used to determine which resources to include in the collection: 

• Representative of existing tools and systems for gathering data
• Useful to COVID-19 response managers or implementors 
• Relevant and applicable to multiple countries and settings 
• Detailed documentation of regional examples

What is Included in This Collection?

The essential resources in the collection fall into five primary categories: general background and guidance on digital development for COVID-19 response; data management systems, tools for mapping or tracking; guidance or strategies, and case study examples of digital health innovations. The collection is inclusive of a mix of resource types, including publications, webpages, blog posts, photo stories, reports, tools, podcasts, and dashboards. 

Each resource in the collection includes a summary and a brief description of why it is considered essential. We hope you will find this collection relevant and beneficial to your work.