K4Health Information Delivery Systems

Synthesizing and responding to the information needs of health professionals around the world is an essential driver of K4Health’s knowledge management (KM) strategy. Delivering this information using a range of effective and appropriate information delivery systems also is a fundamental component of our strategy.

• eToolkits. The K4Health eToolkits platform is built on a set of standard Drupal modules, which K4Health IT staff modified significantly to meet the requirements of toolkit builders. Our IT staff continues to customize the K4Health eToolkits platform to improve the software and meet new requirements. This software provides public health professionals with the tools necessary to create an electronic library of information resources on a particular topic without the need for specialized IT skills or knowledge of databases.
• eLearning. Also developed using Drupal modules such as a Quiz Module, Webforms, and Media Player, the K4Health eLearning platform provides health professionals the ability to build and manage online courses, including creating and implementing quizzes, course evaluations, lectures, and reports on student progress, test results, and certificates.
• Google™-Powered Search. The search system on the K4Health website employs Google™ technology to deliver the best and most familiar search experience possible. By making use of theGoogle Search Appliance, we offer health professionals the ability to not only search the entire K4Health website, but also to execute a more targeted search by selecting one of our specialized resource collections from the drop-down menu next to the search box. With the click of a button, users can focus their search to a specialized collection or expand it to the entire K4Health website without having to re-enter search terms.
• Database Portability. POPLINE content is created in internal databases that are not open source, because it allows K4Health to add and modify content more efficiently than a Web-based, open-source database entry system such as Drupal would allow. However, our IT staff created a custom module to transfer data from the POPLINE database to the Drupal database, creating a seamless integration into the K4Health website. This database portability, or machine-to-machine automated data transfer across multiple database platforms, has endless possibilities in enabling information sharing. For instance, we are currently working on the ability to develop eToolkits at the country, regional, and global levels and share them automatically in all directions.

1. K4Health eToolkits are a low-cost solution for building online libraries of resource collections. The toolkits offer such features as unlimited document storage, Google™-powered search, categorization and organization tools, discussion forums, and an audio, video, and text-chatting tool. K4Health can open a toolkit in a matter of minutes and subject matter experts can build toolkits in a matter of days—not weeks or months as with conventional website development. K4Health eToolkits retain the look and feel of the umbrella K4Health website. However, we can customize a new look and feel to the toolkit platform quickly and inexpensively. For example, we are currently working with the Advance Family Planning Project of the Gates Institute to customize the look of our standard eToolkits platform to meet their specific needs.
2. K4Health-affiliated websites offer projects with larger amounts of information greater flexibility. These websites are built on the K4Health framework and housed on K4Health servers; therefore, they have access to all of the K4Health data and features such as blogs, forums, and commenting, yet they have their own domain name and look and feel. K4Health-affiliated websites can also incorporate eToolkits with their own look and feel. The shared infrastructure, hardware, and software make this model particularly cost effective for donors and projects.  
3. K4Health website copies provide organizations the ability to manage their websites independently on their own infrastructure but to create their sites quickly and inexpensively. The website copy can maintain the functionality of the K4Health website with a new look and feel applied to it, as with K4Health-affiliated websites. However, the website copy is installed separately on the partner organization’s infrastructure and maintained by the partner organization. K4Health website copies, such as the one being developed for the Measurement, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) project funded by the Gates Institute, can take advantage of the interoperability of K4Health systems that makes the exchange of data between systems easier..