Academic Journal
Strengthening data, analytic and scientific writing skills: Insights from working with 17 health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) centres in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
| Τίτλος: | Strengthening data, analytic and scientific writing skills: Insights from working with 17 health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) centres in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Seabi T; South African Medical Research Council, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Tshegofatso.seabi@wits.ac.za., Barr BAT; Nyanja Health Research Institute, Salima, Malawi., Kabudula CW; South African Medical Research Council, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa., Herbst K; Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), uMkhanyakude district, Kwa-Zulu Natal province, South Africa., Ohene-Kwofie D; South African Medical Research Council, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa., Bashingwa J; South African Medical Research Council, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa., Dube A; South African Medical Research Council, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa., Kahn K; South African Medical Research Council, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa., Tollman S; South African Medical Research Council, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. |
| Πηγή: | Population health metrics [Popul Health Metr] 2026 Jul 28; Vol. 23 (Suppl 2). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jul 28. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article; Review |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101178411 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1478-7954 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14787954 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Popul Health Metr Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2003]- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Population Surveillance*/methods , Demography*, COVID-19/epidemiology ; Africa South of the Sahara/epidemiology ; Humans ; Asia, Southern ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Pandemics ; Capacity Building ; Public Health Infrastructure |
| Περίληψη: | In the ever-evolving landscape of global health, Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) generate rare and valuable longitudinal data for understanding health and population dynamics and their determinants in low- and middle-income countries, where vital registration systems are often weak. However, the utility of HDSS centres relies heavily on the capabilities of those responsible for cleaning, describing and analysing the wealth of data they generate. This paper describes our targeted strategy for strengthening the capacity of personnel in HDSS research settings, particularly focusing on data managers and analysts. Additionally, we explore the unique challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic for HDSS research centres, emphasizing the need for a skilled workforce to navigate complex data dynamics. Our approach involved three in-person workshops dedicated to data preparation, analysis, and scientific writing, supplemented by weekly online check-ins and a 25-week writing program. Each workshop included two representatives from participating sites with skills aligned to the workshops. Following two years of intensive capacity building, this project has yielded 15 original research manuscripts currently under review, forming part of a journal special issue on the impact of COVID-19 on mortality in African and South Asian populations. Open-access aggregated data will complement these papers. (© 2026. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: COVID-19; Mortality; SARS‑CoV‑2; data management; process paper; scientific writing |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260729 Date Completed: 20260730 Latest Revision: 20260801 |
| Update Code: | 20260801 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13420847 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12963-026-00495-0 |
| PMID: | 42527933 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1478-7954 |
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| DOI: | 10.1186/s12963-026-00495-0 |