Education and Workforce Development
Connected Health Cities (CHC) initiated the development of a digital capabilities learning programme starting with the identified priority topics of evaluation, information governance and health economics.
The need to increase informatics knowledge and skills in the health and social care setting is well documented. In response, the programme worked to gain an understanding of the current challenges involved in implementing a learning health system, and to provide an appropriate training framework and solution to overcome these challenges.
A three-stage qualitative study was undertaken to identify learning and training needs that could be translated to others working in a learning health system.
This work was carried out in three stages:
- Review of current practice to understand how best to provide sustainable digital solutions;
- Identification of key training needs through conducting 25 interviews across eight case-studies; and
- Design of a 10-step short workshop programme.
Specific areas were highlighted as being the most important for implementing a successful learning health system project:
- Health economics and how to evidence impact and return on investment;
- Development of robust, relevant and up-to-date data sets;
- Knowing how to navigate information governance;
- Understanding how to engage with the public, when to do it and how to ensure continued transparency;
- Data analysis and gaining both valuable and actionable insights from the data;
- Evaluation of work and how to set baselines;
- Achieving sustainability and adoption in a scalable way.