Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges

This article was published in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition [© 2016 by Kim et al. ] and the definite version is available at : https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1. The Journal's website is at: https://jhpn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1

Dettagli Bibliografici
Autori principali: Kim, Dohyeong, Sarker, Malabika, Vyas, Priyanka
Natura: Articolo
Lingua:English
Pubblicazione: © 2016 Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition 2017
Soggetti:
Accesso online:http://hdl.handle.net/10361/8493
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1
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spelling 10361-84932017-10-04T05:15:37Z Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges Kim, Dohyeong Sarker, Malabika Vyas, Priyanka Public health Health policymaking This article was published in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition [© 2016 by Kim et al. ] and the definite version is available at : https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1. The Journal's website is at: https://jhpn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1 In spite of the increasing efforts to gather spatial data in developing countries, the use of maps is mostly for visualization of health indicators rather than informed decision-making. Various spatial tools can aid policymakers to allocate resources effectively, predict patterns in communicable or infectious diseases, and provide insights into geographical factors which are associated with utilization or adequacy of health services. In Bangladesh, the launch of District Health Information System 2, along with recent efforts to gather spatial data of facilities location, provides an interesting opportunity to study the current landscape and the potential barriers in advancing the use of spatial tools for informed decision making. This study assessed the current level of map usage and spatial tools for health sector planning in Bangladesh, focusing on investigating why map usage and spatial tools remained at a basic level for the purpose of health policy. The study design involved in-depth interviews, followed by an expert survey (n = 39) obtained through snowball sampling. Our survey revealed that assessing areas with shortage of community health workers emerged as the top most for basic map usage or primarily for visualization purpose, while planning for emergency and obstetric care services, and disease mapping was the most frequent category for intermediate and advanced map usage, respectively. Furthermore, we found lack of inter-institutional collaboration, lack of continuous availability of trained personnel, and lack of awareness on the use of geographic information system (GIS) as a decision-making tool as three most critical barriers in the current landscape. Our findings highlight the barriers in increasing the adoption of spatial tools for health policymaking and planning in Bangladesh. Published 2017-10-04T05:10:31Z 2017-10-04T05:10:31Z 2016-02 Article Kim, D., Sarker, M., & Vyas, P. (2016). Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges. Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition, 35, 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1 16060997 http://hdl.handle.net/10361/8493 https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1 en https://jhpn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1 © 2016 Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition
institution Brac University
collection Institutional Repository
language English
topic Public health
Health policymaking
spellingShingle Public health
Health policymaking
Kim, Dohyeong
Sarker, Malabika
Vyas, Priyanka
Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges
description This article was published in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition [© 2016 by Kim et al. ] and the definite version is available at : https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1. The Journal's website is at: https://jhpn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1
format Article
author Kim, Dohyeong
Sarker, Malabika
Vyas, Priyanka
author_facet Kim, Dohyeong
Sarker, Malabika
Vyas, Priyanka
author_sort Kim, Dohyeong
title Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges
title_short Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges
title_full Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges
title_fullStr Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges
title_full_unstemmed Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges
title_sort role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of bangladesh: opportunities and challenges
publisher © 2016 Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition
publishDate 2017
url http://hdl.handle.net/10361/8493
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-016-0045-1
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