Informed and Healthy: Theoretical and Applied Perspectives on the Value of Information to Health Care

Maria G. N. Musoke participated in the Bellagio residency program in 2010. During this residency she worked on Informed and Healthy: Theoretical and Applied Perspectives on the Value of Information to Health Care. Maria is an academic and is Professor of Information Science and a Deputy Vice Chancellor at Kyambogo University in Uganda.

A few words with Maria

“When I arrived at the Bellagio Center, I only had my PhD thesis and a dream to write a book based on the raw information in it. I had not started at all. To turn this work into a completed manuscript was an enormous task. However, I was able to make progress and my major accomplishments included preparing the synopsis – which helped me identify an appropriate publisher after the residency – and drafting about 30% of the book.

“During the residency, I had an opportunity to discuss aspects of my work with a resident scholar who had an interest in health and communication issues. I received various articles on the topic from him, which enriched my work. Discussions and consultations with resident scholars are very important; the author tends to be too close to the work to see things from another angle. I also made a presentation to the scholars and artists in the residency and the comments I received were encouraging.

“More so, one of the scholars became interested in various aspects of my work – such as the role of simple technologies in promoting access to health information; “people networks”; problem solving by mobilizing communities, and “public will versus political will”. We discussed the possibility of projects in those areas.”

Synopsis

A valuable resource for health professionals, planners, and policy makers, Informed and Healthy focuses on two major issues: the value attributed to information by users and its effect on health care, and a new model of information behavior in which the value of information drives various information activities.

Taking the case study of the health information system in Uganda and comparing it to other systems elsewhere, the book addresses issues of access and use of information, value attribution and effect on health outcomes, and modeling information behavior and its implications on health informatics.

Explore More

To find out more about Maria’s work, read about the high-profile launch of Informed and Healthy from 2016, or visit Maria’s Google Scholar profile for further reading.