Operations Research Training in Côte d’Ivoire
Bonjour from the 2nd International Course on Operations Research, being held at the Institut National de Santé Publique (INSP, National Public Health Institute) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire! Operations research looks at how health services are delivered to patients in real life, and how these services can be improved. Through this kind of research, governments can see what is working and where gaps exist in their health system so that they can make informed management decisions about how to improve services.
This course, which was organized by the INSP and HAI with funding from CDC-PEPFAR, involves senior leaders from all 23 departments of the Ministry of Health. Over the course of four days, participants will learn the basics of operations research, including how to choose the most urgent system problems health managers face, how to choose and measure the impact of health interventions, how to ensure that standards of ethics are applied to OR projects, and how to disseminate results so as to share best practices.
We've had some great successes so far. Early on in the course, we formed 6 groups of 10 participants, and these small groups have been developing and refining projects, some of which will be implemented after the workshop. Tackling everything from loss to follow up of TB patients, to improving the uptake of family planning services in Bondoukou, to improving drugs logistics systems from Abidjan to rural northern regions, these multidisciplinary groups are applying OR skills to real problems faced by real people in Cote d'Ivoire.
We've had amazing support from our INSP partners, including and especially Professor Kouassi Dinard and Dr Te Bonle Margueurite. And, of course, our amazing HAI-CI staff, who have worked tirelessly to continually improve and expand our relationships with these national partners.