Data is a key piece of so many initiatives in global health. It is collected in just about any medical or public health setting in droves, and can be used to better inform the provision of care and to really see what needs to be done to make a difference in a community. Unfortunately, for many organizations that work internationally, there might not be enough human resources to take the time to really dig into the data that is collected in order to make a difference with it. That is where the Globemed at Tufts Data Team comes into play.
Globemed at Tufts this year has launched the network’s first ever data staff team within the chapter. Born out of the chapter’s GROW internship over the summer, the goal of the data team is to dig through Nyaya Health’s data in order to find additional ways to put it to use. Nyaya collects a great deal of information through its robust data collection program. Unfortunately, Nyaya is working on so many different projects that they can only scratch the surface of what the data might hold. The data team at Globemed can help provide the manpower to work through the different sources of information that the Bayalptata hospital collects.
The data team at Globemed is working on several different projects. The first is to put together some statistics from the data for the clinical staff at Bayalpata’s daily continuing medical education lectures. These statistics will help provide the clinical staff with more context surrounding the types of patents that the hospital sees on a regular basis. The second project that the team is working on is to write a number of data briefs for the Nyaya team internationally and in Nepal. These data briefs are documents that analyze Nyaya data in order to answer a specific question in a practical way. For example, the team is currently writing a report on the types of surgical cases that the hospital most often sees in order to help plan for surgical camps to occur in the next few months.
Data is an integral part of Global Health. Through the data team relationship Globemed at Tufts has with Nyaya, the chapter can now do real work that can make a difference in Nyaya’s operations that might not have been possible otherwise.
GlobeMed at Tufts University 