Applied Health Data Research and Interpretation

Case study: Investigating declining reporting completeness

1. Task 1. Calculate reporting completeness for each month.
2. Task 2. Describe the trend from January to March.
3. Task 3. Calculate the percentage-point change from January to March.
4. Task 4. List three possible reasons for the decline, and state that they are not established causes.
5. Task 5. Recommend three data-quality checks before any conclusion is final.
6. Task 6. Write one clear research question for a further investigation.
7. Task 7. Write a short brief: purpose, key findings, interpretation, limitations, recommendations, and a follow-up measure.
8. Task 8. Explain two precautions if the investigation needs facility records or conversations with staff.

Module 7 completion checklist

• Explain the purpose of health data research.
• Develop a clear research question.
• Distinguish descriptive, exploratory, comparative and evaluative questions.
• Calculate totals, means, medians and percentages.
• Interpret changes over time.
• Distinguish percentage changes from percentage-point changes.
• Explain the difference between association and causation.
• Recognise selection bias and information bias.
• Identify potential confounding factors.
• Explain basic research ethics and data protection.
• Write a concise analytical brief.
• Translate findings into practical recommendations.

You can now approach a health-data question in order, do basic descriptive analysis, interpret it without overstating it, and write a brief a decision-maker can use.

Next: Module 8, the capstone. It brings the course together: cleaning, Excel calculations, indicators, multi-source comparison, a dashboard plan, an M&E review, research limits, and a final analytical report.