During health emergencies, regular health information system interruption is common, so knowledge gap expected, which affects the accurate measures of health and the health factors (UNISDR, 2013). Bilukha (2008) states that during health emergencies there is a lack of agreement on which indicators should be used and to document what, at the same time many health indicators are difficult to measure well in emergency settings. Health professionals require accurate information and they need to be able access data rapidly from different sources and transform that data into information and knowledge to do their jobs (Liebowitz, Schieber, & Andreadis, 2010). They also have to cooperate with other organizations in order to be able to respond effectively to public health threats (Liebowitz, Schieber, & Andreadis, 2010). Many research studies have been investigated on the relationship between KM and health (Bordoloi & Islam, 2012; Chen, 2013; Hassan, Hayiyusuh, & Nouri, 2011; Liebowitz et al., 2010; Mohanty at al, 2005). Their work provides an excellent foundation for this study. Despite the growing literature in the area of KM, the adoption of KM by health partners still very low. This could indicate that health partners do not have a clear understanding of KM or it could be due to health partners not being ready to share their knowledge with others. Therefore, this study tries to fill the knowledge gap by focusing on understanding the importance of KM support in the application of health indicators in non-normal situations (emergencies).
Public Health Importance of the Paper
Emergency management is often misunderstood as being only those activities related to an emergency response situation. However, it is associated with emergency planning in its largest context and covers a range of business continuity management and preparation, training and preparedness programs, as well as disaster response and recovery. Moreover, while an integrated response is desired, in reality the various organizations involved usually work independently. Civil society organisations are often ignored as well. Health organisations tended to be slow and resistant to change. In addition, they were less familiar with dealing with emergency situations and were more focused on their routine workload.
Despite the growing literature in the area of KM, the adoption of KM by health partners still very low. This could indicate that health partners do not have a clear understanding of KM or it could be due to health partners not being ready to share their knowledge with others. Therefore, this study tries to fill the knowledge gap by focusing on understanding the importance of KM support to public health in humanitarian emergency.
The study is expected to lie in its potential to find a way to monitor and to improve the performance of health partners during emergencies and disasters. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, this study is the foremost to study the application of KM in relation to health indicators. The study intends to provide a clear comprehension of KM and how it may affect the application of health indicators during emergencies, to identify the current range of health indicators, and to explore to what extent appropriate health indicators are used in emergencies.
Disaster Risk Management
Disaster Risk Management refers to the systematic analysis and management of health risks, posed by emergencies and disasters.
Knowledge Management System
Knowledge Management System (KM System) refers to a system for managing knowledge in organizations for supporting creation, capture, storage and dissemination of information, generally a KM system is computer based. KM Systems deal with information so they are a class of information systems and may build on or utilize other information sources. A computer-based KM System includes a database that contains knowledge items and an activity record that is associated with the knowledge items (Murphy M.E, 2006), stated that KM Systems are vital for disaster detection, response planning, and management. These systems aid in early warning and provide decision support for disaster response and recovery management.
Health Information System
A health information system or HIS is a set of modules and procedures prepared with the objective of producing information to improve healthcare management decisions at all levels of the health system (Lippeveld, Sauerborn, & Bodart, 2000).
Knowledge Management and Health
As per the Association of State and Territorial Health in the USA, KM can be important tool for the public health (ASTHO-USA, 2005). Public health is a multidisciplinary arena that reports a broad collection of topics affecting to the health of human populations (ASTHO-USA, 2005). Furthermore, public health specialists place trust in research approaches to determine causal and contributing health factors, and use a public health approach to monitor, avoid and solve health problems.
Knowledge in healthcare is depend on high-value of information that is essential for healthcare experts to act effectively. In this regard, due to the emergence of KM, the raw empirical data can be changed into experiential knowledge and provide experts with a decision-support system (Abidi, 2001).
Knowledge management in healthcare would be of attention to all those who are elaborate in health services delivery (Abidi, 2001) as KM provides easy and fast access to a treasury of knowledge. The KM model goes beyond the need to manage information burden (Davenport & Marchand, 1999). It satisfies the needs for applying best practice and providing high quality health services, which gains patient satisfaction. The model goals at better efficiency, harmonisation, and cost reduction. It is a collection of knowledge that increases healthcare experts’ effectiveness and productivity. A KM system offers them
the chance to learn how other contemporaries positively solve similar problems (Lusignan, 2002)
The above views are echoed to an extent in a report the Institute of Medicine in Washington (2002), whose recommendations covered multiple aspects of public health and summarized that public health must have the freshest information in order to conduct analyses and to report and disseminate appropriate information.
Furthermore, Abidi (2001) states that KM in healthcare can be seen as the combination of methodologies and techniques to enable the creation, identification, gaining, development, protection, distribution and then utilization of the several facets of a healthcare enterprise’s knowledge assets.
Importance of KM for the Health System
In the context of health, KM is a systematic approach that can be applied to guarantee that health experts approach the most recent knowledge, and to guarantee that they can apply that knowledge to their work at all levels inside the health system, i.e. at the international, regional, and national levels (Bocock, Campbell, McLean, Sullivan, & Wilhelmsen, 2012).
Health workers are using a common language to describe health systems that refers to six building blocks that are based on a framework developed by the WHO (WHO, 2007). The blocks are: (1) health service delivery, (2) health workforce, (3) HIS, (4) vaccines, medical products and technologies, (5) health systems financing (6) leadership and governance.
Health practitioners who are unclear about KM might assume that KM methods, practices, and tools work only within the health information system block, which focuses on sources of data, health indicators, data use, management and dissemination. However, regardless of which building block professionals are working in, despite everything they need explicit information, data, and knowledge to inform the decision-making process, and along these lines, KM can play a significant role in each of the six building blocks (Bocock, Campbell, McLean, Sullivan, & Wilhelmsen, 2012).
A study in 2013 notes that in spite of the availability of framework, strategies, and tools inside a HIS, what is regularly undeveloped is the limit with regards to information clients outside of the HIS to access and share information effectively (Nutley & Reynolds, 2013). This is one topic in which KM can add value. Furthermore, by enabling knowledge exchange, access, and use, KM goes beyond the HIS and cuts over each of the six building blocks (Bocock et al., 2012).