About DH:PNS
Curriculum Overview
Digital Health: Planning National Systems is a multi-modal course and training program that equips national planners to create comprehensive digital health strategies and strong governance structures - with a goal of contributing to the overall strengthening of health systems in lower and middle-income countries.
Using TechChange’s instructional design expertise, the course’s content has been scaffolded, where each module builds on the one previous to it.
DH:PNS begins with establishing a foundational understanding of digital health, including examples of what it comprises and key terms and concepts. The next module defines health systems and how digital health can optimize healthcare delivery and outcomes connected to health system challenges.
The course then dives into the national digital health planning process which is framed around a national digital strategy that leverages the “enterprise planning approach”.
Some key topics explored in the national planning process include examining the technical architecture of an enterprise and how to implement one that support a country’s digital health interventions. Since DH:PNS is firmly grounded within the real world, we also cover how to develop a budget for the enterprise and how this assists with sustainable planning.
The final module in the national planning process of the course emphasizes the importance of governance, and reviews stakeholder coordination, policy and regulation, as well as how to prepare a capable workforce.
Following the national planning process modules, we conclude with an overview of emerging technologies and how to plan for these in your enterprise and health system.
Since the 1990s, health systems around the world have experimented with digitized interventions in an effort to improve health outcomes. Many of those interventions are backed by research—the World Health Organization has identified over 80 different ways that digital health can support health outcomes and address health system challenges, from decision making support tools, to human resource management.
But as the uptake of singular digital interventions in low- and- middle- income countries to address health system challenges grew, it became apparent that many of these interventions were being implemented in siloed ways, resulting in fragmentation. Health system fragmentation causes issues from data analysis inaccuracies, to cost inefficiencies, and to interventions that are not evidence-based or patient-centered, which ultimately impact healthcare delivery and public health outcomes.
Many governments struggle to address the complex dynamics causing fragmentation and to coordinate these digital health interventions and actors around a common national digital health strategy that promotes the enterprise planning approach and reverses the power imbalance between local stakeholders and donors in the Global North. This capacity gap negatively impacts health systems and can lead to sub-optimal service delivery & health outcomes.
Digital Health: Planning National Systems is a course considered a Content Global Good that equips national planners with the knowledge and skills to create comprehensive digital health strategies enabled by strong governance structures. Graduates are empowered with the relevant content, frameworks, methods and connections they need to follow best practices and organize stakeholders and digital health interventions around a common strategy, which will ultimately support the overall strengthening of their country’s health system.
Download Course Brochures: English; Spanish; French; and Portuguese
Why this course?
Languages
Digital Health: Planning National Systems was originally developed in English, but has since been professionally translated into Spanish, Portuguese , and French.
All translations have been extensively vetted by reviewers and participants.
If you are a funder and would like to discuss adding additional languages to the DH:PNS library, please contact us.
Modalities
DH:PNS is available in a variety of learning modalities including virtual self-paced (asynchronous), virtual synchronous, virtual blended (mix of asynchronous and synchronous), and in-person synchronous.
Each of these comes with advantages for the learner, whether the rich opportunities for connection and engagement with peers that learning in a cohort (synchronous and blended modalities) offers, or the flexibility and independence of self-paced learning. The modality chosen should fit the constraints and priorities of the learner or implementing organization.
DH:PNS Elements
Self-Paced Course
Comprehensive digital health self-paced material available online for free on the TechChange platform in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Not certificate-based.
Training of Trainers
Advanced professional development opportunity to equip trainers for DH:PNS to deliver future cohorts.
Knowledge Repository
Detailed repository of all course materials and source files labeled with Creative Commons licensing, to be used for continued sharing and adaptation of materials by the public.
Blended / Synchronous
Cohort-based virtual or in-person learning opportunities that offer interactive ways to learn material and connect with peers. Certificate-based.
Community of Practice
For DH:PNS alumni, the CoP is a place to connect and engage with other digital health practitioners who have graduated from the course.
Architects of Digital Health Game
Innovative board game designed by TechChange that allows play-based practice for critical digital health concepts taught in DH:PNS.
History
The World Health Organization and other partners, including USAID and Digital Square, identified the need for a course directed toward national planners. TechChange set to work with a team of subject matter experts to review digital health frameworks, working to synthesize relevant terms and concepts into a standardized structure and best practices for implementing national digital health interventions to address pressing health system challenges.
Elements of the course were piloted in-person in several locations before COVID-19 and a desire to scale the course more widely necessitated its conversion to a fully virtual format. TechChange’s online learning team then created a synchronous learning course on the TechChange platform full of interactive activities, reflection exercises, case studies, and knowledge checks to bring the otherwise dense material to life. In order to accommodate participants without consistent internet access, the team further adapted the synchronous course for a blended learning experience that allowed more flexibility.
Both the synchronous and blended course modalities have been rigorously piloted and refined with diverse participants across twenty cohorts, and is now considered a Content Global Good. The courses have now been translated into French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
What’s Next
Digital Health: Planning National Systems continues to evolve. TechChange stewards the course library and works to develop new activities, modules, and resources that supplement the course content. Our subject matter experts stay abreast of advances in the field of digital health, and adapt the course as needed to reflect current best practices and recent case study examples. Additionally, the DH:PNS Alumni community grows with each person who finishes the course.