Health Systems Research (HSR) has proven to be a useful tool for health decision makers at all levels over the past 20 years, providing them with the necessary data for informed decision making. "Designing and Conducting Health System Research Projects" for health practitioners, presents a course outline, in modular format, that deals step-by-step with the development of an HSR proposal and field testing (Part I) and with data analysis and report writing (Part II). The unanticipated application of the modules in academic as well as health management circles led to rapid exhaustion of the 1991 edition and the several subsequent reprints. The different groups of users also made many useful suggestions for change, which needed elaborating. The HSR Unit in AFRO, with agreement from IDRC therefore decided to organise a revision of the HSR modules. An interdisciplinary group of Southern African researchers carried out the revisions in two workshops in 1998 and 1999, and two of the three original editors finalised the present version. IDRC kept the end responsibility for the publication, which was financed by AFRO and IDRC and published by KIT.
Author(s): C.M. Varkevisser, C.M. Pathmanathan, A. Brownlee
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 570
Table of Contents......Page 6
Foreword......Page 8
Preface and acknowledgements......Page 10
Module 21: Orientation to the workshop on data analysis and report writing......Page 18
Module 22: Description of variables......Page 32
Module 23: Analysis of qualitative data......Page 50
Module 24: Cross-tabulation of quantitative data......Page 68
Module 25: Measures of association based on risk......Page 82
Module 26: Dealing with confounding variables......Page 98
Module 27: Preparation for statistical analysis: Measures of dispersion, normal distribution and sample variation......Page 112
Module 28: Choosing a significance test......Page 126
Module 29: Determining differences between groups: Part I, Analysis of unpaired observations......Page 142
Module 30: Determining differences between groups: Part II, Analysis of paired observations......Page 160
Module 31: Measuring associations between variables: Regression and correlation......Page 170
Module 32: Writing a research report......Page 184
Module 33: Dissemination, communication and utilisation of research findings......Page 200
About the authors......Page 212
