Researchers from across all themes within Thanzi la Onse were brought together recently to discuss data availability and data requirements within the respective work streams. Overlapping data needs and data sharing approaches were discussed.
Researchers from Thanzi la Onse (TLO), whose work focusses on quantitative data methods, participated in a meeting at Imperial College London on the 24-25th of September, hosted by Tara Mangal and other researchers from Theme 1 (Epidemiology and Modelling). Malawian partners and a number of York based researchers participated remotely.
The aim of the meeting was to bring together Malawian and UK researchers to discuss overlapping data needs and how to take data collaboration forward.
The meeting began with a welcome and introduction by Paul Revill (Centre for Health Economics, Theme 2 – Health Economics). This was followed by an extensive presentation of existing and forthcoming data on health systems in Malawi from Dominic Nkhoma (University of Malawi, Theme 2). Dominic’s presentation was key in showcasing the available data sources in Malawi which might not be known to researchers outside of Malawi.
[box]The aim of the meeting was to bring together Malawian and UK researchers to discuss overlapping data needs and how to take data collaboration forward.[/box]
The first day continued with presentations on epidemiological data needs by Tim Hallett (Imperial, Theme 1) and household survey data by Matthias Arnold and Wiktoria Tafesse (CHE, Theme 2). Each presentation was followed by a discussion from all participants.
Tim Hallett opened the second day of meetings with introductory remarks. Subsequently, ODI researchers from Theme 3 (Politics and Governance), Tom Hart and Soumya Chattopadhyay, gave presentations on health care budget data and upcoming data collection on the access to health care in Malawi.
The meeting closed with a vibrant discussion on possible strategies for efficient and effective strategies for accessing, managing and sharing data across the research themes. The discussion also touched upon potential ways and platforms for communicating and informing each other about data sources, including holding further TLO Data Meetings in the future.
