Identifying the information communication to improve decision-making - Development of a model to support decision-making in the Malawi Health System

Abstract: Health Information has a great potential to support decisions in the Health System. Making a decision in Health System (HS) can no longer be seen as a problem owing to technical advancements in computing and telecommunications. This is due to the harnessing of the effective decision-making process in order to leverage information flow. However, how the information flow in Malawi supports decision-making is unknown. In addition to that, problems with data quality and data currency occur due to paper based standards. This adds to the problem of mortality and morbidity which has not only been one of the biggest challenges that are faced by Malawi HS but also developing countries. For supporting the decrease of this rate, Health Information System (HIS) has been identified as a potential means, thus there have been various projects initiated in order to improve HIS in different countries. The main purpose of this study is to provide an artefact which serves as a model of Health information communication in Malawi HS. This leads to more efficient decision-making in Malawi HS. To achieve this purpose we employed design science research approach. Using this as a means to achieve the goal of our research, we collected data by interviewing HS experts specialising in the research of HIS. Also, data was collected from various sources and different levels of the Health System (HS) in Malawi. These sources of data collection, in conjunction with feedback's from our experts, provide us different stages of decision-making in HIS which are conspicuous in the iterative design process. This leads to the evolution of the artefact of this research and our design proposition which is a Model of Health information communication. This model aims to support implementation and further development of the particular HIS and to support decision-making process. In conclusion, by having the clear blueprint of the information flow and increased awareness of how the information is used in the decision making process, the information delivery can be optimized thus; the decision making points will provide the required accurate and timely information.