WHO digital health packages for disseminating data standards and data use practices

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Health Informatics
• Digital Health

Background:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) developed digital health packages to improve global health monitoring.
• Effective dissemination of standards and guidelines is crucial for national health information systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze a WHO initiative for disseminating global health standards and guidelines.
• To assess the role of digital health packages in strengthening national capacity for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) monitoring.

Main Methods:

• A multi-year case study approach was employed.
• Authors actively participated in the development, implementation, and evaluation of digital health packages.

Main Results:

• Key innovations include a flexible, integrated development process and combined standards in one package.
• Digital health packages include data standards, analysis guidance, and dashboard specifications for specific health areas.
• Configurations for widely used software platforms are provided, supported by technical teams.

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrates a novel digital platform approach for disseminating health standards.
• Forty countries have adopted WHO digital health packages into their national health information systems.