Table 2 Users’ knowledge needs, types of information used, and sources for obtaining informationa
Categoriesa | Senior decision-maker | Field manager | Healthcare provider | Advisor | Analyst/researcher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Knowledge needs | |||||
1. Policy development (e.g., health-system strengthening, health-advocacy approach, etc.) | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
2. Operational logistical management (e.g., military and political context, shelter, security, hygiene, mobile clinic set ups, human resources issues, cross-border health supplies management, etc.) | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | |
3. Clinical management of patients in a crisis situation (e.g., case management, etc.) | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | |
4. Community-level program development (e.g., behavior change support, etc.) | ✔ | ||||
5. Implementation strategies for any of the above (i.e., policy development, operational logistical management, clinical management, and community level program development) | ✔ | ||||
Types of information usedb | |||||
• Data: | |||||
1. country specific registries and surveillance data | ✔ | ||||
• Research evidence: | |||||
1. systematic reviews and meta-analyses | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ |
2. single context-specific case studies | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✓ |
3. intervention studies (e.g., clinical trials) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✓ | |
4. surveys | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | |
5. observational studies | ✔ | ✔ | |||
6. conceptual papers (e.g., theoretical papers) | ✔ | ✔ | |||
• Guidance: | |||||
1. internal guidance documents | ✔ | ✔ | ✓ | ||
2. global guidelines (e.g., WHO) | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ||
• Expert opinion: | |||||
1. expert opinions from the field | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
• Stakeholder insights: | |||||
1. stakeholder tacit knowledge or ordinary knowledge | ✔ | ✓ | |||
2. stakeholder opinions | ✔ | ✔ | |||
• Undefined combinations of the above: | |||||
1. internal organizational field assessment information | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | |
2. lessons learned discussion papers | ✔ | ||||
Sources for obtaining information | |||||
• Databases: | |||||
1. one-stop shops: | |||||
1. ReliefWeb: contains many different types of information but predominantly news and not research evidence | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
2. Health Systems Evidence: contains systematic reviews on a given topic related to health-system arrangements or implementation strategies | ✔ | ||||
3. Zika communication Network (ZCN): contains evidence-based toolkits and guidance related to Zika virus | ✔ | ||||
2. organizational databases that provide only that organization reports (e.g., ACAPS, ALNAPc, Chatham house library, Cochrane) | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | |
3. organizational databases that provide access to other information (e.g., MEDBOX, WHO: HINARI) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ |
4. Google (e.g., google scholar, general google search) | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | ✓ | |
5. indexed bibliographic databases accessed through University library subscriptions (e.g., Science Direct, Scopus, Up-to-date) | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | |
6. indexed bibliographic databases accessed through other mechanisms (e.g., PubMed) | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | |
7. organizational internal databases | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | |
8. media websites (e.g., print media, broadcast media) | ✔ | ||||
• Reports: | |||||
1. reports by UN agencies (e.g., IOM, OCHA, UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO) | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ |
2. internal reports (e.g., ICRC, MSF, ODI, Save the Children,) | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
3. reports by US agencies (e.g., CDC, CIA fact sheets, USAID) | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
4. field staff reports | ✔ | ✓ | |||
5. reports by charitable organizations (e.g., Bill & Melinda Gates, Oxfam) | ✔ | ||||
6. reports by UK agencies (e.g., Rebuild consortium) | ✔ | ||||
• Correspondence and social networks: | |||||
1. Email subscriptions (e.g., Disaster management information, Global Health Network, William Brighter Institute) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
2. Social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, ResearchGate, Twitter) | ✓ | ✔ | |||
3. memos and correspondence distributed across the whole organization | ✔ | ||||
4. direct correspondence with senior-decision makers | ✔ | ||||
5. direct correspondence with review article authors | ✔ | ||||