The INFO Project
Encyclopedia
The INFO Project is housed at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is part of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

 Center for Communication Programs (JHU∙CCP) and is funded by the United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...

.

Areas of Expertise

INFO is a leader in Knowledge Management
Knowledge management
Knowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...

, generating, synthesizing and delivering evidence-based reproductive health
Reproductive health
Within the framework of the World Health Organization's definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene, addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system...

 and family planning
Family planning
Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...

 knowledge. Knowledge management involves systematically and routinely creating, gathering, organizing, sharing, adapting and using knowledge - from both inside and outside an organization - to help achieve organizational goals and objectives. The INFO project aims to close the "know-do" gap among health providers in the developing world; according to the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

 many of the solutions to health problems of the poor exist, but are not being applied. This is called the "know-do" gap -- the gap between what is known and what is done in practice. The INFO project disseminated the latest knowledge to health providers so they will be able to implement evidence-based best practice
Best practice
A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...

.

Tools for Knowledge Management

As of 2002, an estimated 113.6 million women in the developing world had an unmet need for contraception. In some areas myths persist about side effects of contraception discouraging use, while in other areas providers are unaware of how to recommend and counsel on family planning methods. The INFO Project uses a variety of tools to ensure evidence-based knowledge reaches the intended audience of health care practitioners, policy-makers, program managers, service providers, trainers donors, academics and researchers and to ensure that this unmet need is met. INFO uses the following to achieve its goals of disseminating information and ensuring the adoption of best practices:
  • Databases (One Source, POPLINE
    POPLINE
    POPLINE is a reproductive health database, containing citations with abstracts to scientific articles, reports, books, and unpublished reports in the field of population, family planning, and reproductive health issues...

    )
  • Publications (including Population Reports and INFO Reports)
  • eLearning Courses
  • Networks and Communities (Implementing Best Practices Knowledge Gateway, INFO Blog)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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