St. Lucy Hospital

St. Lucy Hospital

St. Lucy Hospital looks forward to enhancing the research capacity of the organization and its researchers so that more papers and research reports are published more frequently. To achieve this objective, the hospital had to conduct a capacity needs assessment to evaluate the existing actual gaps within the organization in terms of skills, knowledge, strengths, weakness, assets, among other elements (Squires et al., 2017). The focus will be placed on improving data analysis knowledge of the available research personnel. To determine the reasons for the lack of or the existence of limited research papers written and published by the researchers within the organization, the hospital conducted a Focus Group Discussion with the organizational staffs. Involving the stakeholders in brainstorming about the cause of limited research capacity within the hospital, is an essential step in establishing the need for knowledge improvement among the researchers. The information gathered from the Focus Group Discussion will guide the appropriate steps to be taken to address the gaps and the areas which require the ultimate emphasis (Charles et al., 2017). The Focus Group Discussing will provide the primary data forward to the hospital management to make informed decisions concerning the implementation of appropriate intervention strategies.

Table 1: Need analysis table

Capacity Items

1st step

Current capacity

2nd step

Desired Capacity

3rd step

Gaps (capacity deficit)

Knowledge of data analysis techniques

Most researchers are conversant with the basic skills of Microsoft excels such as data entry, budgeting, and summations

Researchers should be able to use excel for many other activities such as arranging big data for GIS, SPSS, GenStat analysis and many more (Monroe-Wise et al. 2019). They should know how to calculate means, mode, median using excel and even draw graphs, charts, and box and whiskers (Begum and Ahmed, 2015).

Adequate knowledge on the use of excel, especially for data analysis purpose and presentation.

Awareness of data analysis tool.

All researchers are aware of excel and SPSS.

Only 9 researchers are aware of GenStat and 4 of them aware of GIS. Other tools are unknown to the researchers

All researches should be aware of at least 6 tools used for data analysis and their appropriate application.

Moat researchers are unaware of GIS, GenStat, SAS, and NVivo,

Knowledge of research designs

18 researchers report conversance with the available research designs, especially for epidemiological research.

All researchers should be conversant with the available research designs (Begum and Ahmed, 2015).

Only two researches need coaching on research designs.

Number of papers published by researches

Researchers were only stating papers they wrote to graduate during their studies. Outside studies, only two researchers reported having published 4 paper, two of them being the ones written by the organization. 7 more researchers were involved in the organizational papers. The remaining researchers have no paper published.

All researchers should have at least 3 papers published

Researchers lack adequate capacity and support to publish papers

Number of incomplete papers

2 researchers have written 7 papers, 3 researchers have written 5 papers and the reaming 12 researches have one paper each.

With the available data, each researcher should have at least three paper in the process.

Researchers lack money and knowledge needed for data analysis.

Trainers (Statisticians and biometricians)

The hospital has only one statistician.

The company require at least two statisticians and two biometricians to assist and train researchers.

Researchers lack technical support for report writing.

Computers

Only 5 desktop are functioning properly within the hospital. Only four researches have properly functioning laptops

All researchers should have personal laptops to enhance learning, practice, and report writing (Edwards, Kaseje, & Kahwa, 2016)

At least 20 more laptops/computers are needed

Evaluation of Data Gathered

The data gathered from the above needs analysis show a grave knowledge deficit on data analysis and lack of support to enhance report writing and publication. Even though a few researchers know about some data analysis tools and their application, nearly all researchers are not fully conversant with operating them. The research team will have to capacity build the researchers on data analysis and provide them with laptops to run the programs. Human resource with the required capacity is a primary asset needed for research purposes (Edwards, Kaseje, & Kahwa, 2016). From this analysis, the knowledge gap is quite pronounced that the previous budget of 11,850, may not be enough to sustain the number of days required to impart the necessary knowledge.

Justification for the Resources Needed

Additional resources are required to ensure the success of the training and complete coverage of the contents. The researchers within the hospital have way too little knowledge concerning data analysis and data analysis tool. The training is again necessitated by the fact that such knowledge deficit is the primary reason for the sluggish report writing and publication within the hospital. Edwards, Kaseje, & Kahwa (2016) report that capacity building should be given immediate attention to ensure the effective implementation of interventions to the recommended scale and quality.

The trainers may need more time and more financial support to ensure complete coverage of the existing knowledge gap. The project team worked with the assumption that the researchers were conversant with Microsoft excel. However, the need analysis shows that in-depth training is as well needed in Microsoft excel. Besides, practical practice is much more important for learning computer software operations than theoretical explanations (Iskander, 2019). As such, the trainees will require more time for personal practice during the training.

Effects of Increased Resources on Improving Patient Care

The project aims to enhance research capacity in the healthcare system. According to Edwards, Kaseje, & Kahwa (2016), building research capacity significantly strengthens healthcare systems. The researchers will be able to use the available data and synthesize research evidence to inform policies, practices, and programs that can improve care quality and outcome. Additionally, they will be able to demonstrate and evaluate the efficiency and quality of the healthcare services being provided (Matus, Mickan, Walker, 2018). With researcher evidence, informed decision making concerning care provision can be done to ensure quality improvement.

Need for a Contractual Agreement

The implementation of the project involves purchase and issuing of laptops to trainees. Contractual agreements will be required for both the purchase and usage of the gadgets. For example, the hospital will procure a contractual agreement will Dell laptops Distributors to ensure they deliver the required number of laptops, at the required time, and with the required specifications. This will ensure accountability in case of undesired outcomes and warranty (Niya, Schüpfer, Bocek, & Stiller, 2017). Researchers provided with the laptops will also sign usage agreement to ensure that they provide product stewardship and accountability for misuse and carelessness. The hospital will also sign a contract with the fund provider to ensure the sustainability of the project. This will help create an obligation for the research team to deliver on their objectives and the fund providers to deliver on their promise as well (Pouryousefi & Frooman, 2017)