Work

From Data to Action: Strengthening Healthcare Leadership and Data-Driven Decision-Making in Mogadishu, Somalia

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Somalia's public health facilities have expanded the use of electronic medical records (EMR) and health management information systems (HMIS) over the past decade, yet the routine translation of these data into managerial and clinical decisions remains limited. A recent multicenter cross-sectional study of 45 Somali public facilities found that fewer than four in ten of 405 healthcare managers made adequate use of EMR-generated data; access to dashboards and technical support was associated with greater data use, and perceived system difficulty with lower use. This literature-based commentary presents no new primary data. It argues that information systems appear to have been deployed faster than the managerial routines, feedback loops, and analytic skills needed to act on them, and that leadership and governance are important, though not the only, contributors to the gap between data availability and data use in Mogadishu's health facilities. Because the underlying evidence is predominantly cross-sectional, the associations discussed should not be read as causal. Drawing on Somalia-specific evidence and on the health system building blocks, Performance of Routine Information System Management (PRISM), and evidence-based management literature, it proposes a leadership-oriented framework for moving from data collection to data-informed action in Mogadishu's hospitals and primary health facilities. The framework integrates four pillars (dashboard-based feedback, mentored analytic capacity, structured decision routines, and accountable follow-through) into one data-to-action management cycle and is offered as an operational hypothesis requiring validation through implementation research. Short-term, low-cost steps are distinguished from longer-term institutional reforms.

Source: Journal of Healthcare Leadership

DOI: 10.2147/jhl.s651409

Authors: Maryan Mohamud Hambali, Abdullahi Salad Abdi

Institution: SIMAD University

Language: English

Topic: Electronic Health Records Systems

Subfield: Health Information Management

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,320