Leveraging the Power of Knowledge Management to Transform Global Health and Development

We applaud Sullivan et al. for highlighting the need to foster collaboration and knowledge-dissemination to improve health care delivery. This disconnect between evidence and practice both within and across health systems-the "know-do" gap-contributes to poor health outcomes, particularly in resource-limited settings. The lack of infrastructure and capacity for coordination among health care workers in Bangladesh called for a knowledge management (KM) initiative to bridge this gap, and there is no doubt that this improved communicative framework has the potential to positively impact health outcomes at the national level.

While the Bangladesh Knowledge Management Initiative (BKMI) allowed for effective coordination of health care practices, learning, and capacity building within the Bangladeshian health system, we propose taking KM a step further to include bridging the know-do gap across global health systems. Information regarding best practices is often published on proprietary institutional websites that can lead to the creation of silos of knowledge. Meanwhile, frontline health workers often practice in isolated, rural settings and systems in other countries are left to compile their own knowledge without learning from neighbors. This fragmentation of knowledge and communication inhibits the sharing of ideas between systems with common goals.

Global Health Delivery Online (GHDonline.org)-a platform of expert-led, professional virtual communities for global health practitioners across disciplines, organizations and countries-aims to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice by facilitating collaboration to improve health outcomes in resource-limited settings. GHDonline's discussions, in which members ask questions and share their experiences and recommendations, promote contextualized, applicable knowledge that is not found in traditional publications. In the field of global health delivery, where both explicit and tacit knowledge is inaccessible for some, information technology can do more than connect a disparate network of implementers and stakeholders. Professional virtual communities, such as GHDonline, can also attract and aggregate the knowledge needed to impact practice and result in better health for the most vulnerable populations. By taking advantage of the central role human interaction, discussion and story-telling play in the building and exchange of knowledge, GHDonline acts as a knowledge management tool to improve care delivery within and across systems.

GHDonline is committed to creating public goods, and membership is offered at no cost. We invite you to join your colleagues in a global movement to improve health care delivery by visiting http://www.ghdonline.org/.

Conflict of Interest:

None declared