Building a Trusted Health Workforce Intelligence System: Reflections from the PRISM Center Committee Meeting

Currently, Kenya continues to face workforce issues that have resulted in homespun shortages, maldistribution, outflow of staff to other countries, burnout, and industrial unrest. Although data exists everywhere, it is scattered, outdated, and insufficient for making informed decisions.

This was the background against which the recent PRISM Center Committee meeting was held, where different voices were represented and converged to discuss and envision the future of health workforce intelligence in Kenya.

From Policy Gaps to Evidence Generation

PRISM was born out of policy crises characterized by strikes and staffing issues, where leaders were forced to make key decisions without credible and reliable data available to them. Everyone agreed that although policies are available, evidence to support their implementation remains scarce.

PRISM was not created to contribute to policy debates alone; rather, its purpose was to become an evidence generator, providing timely, reliable, and relevant information for leaders to make informed decisions.

The Fragmented Data Reality

From these conversations, it was obvious that deficiencies existed in data systems, and some of these were:

– There was no integration between public and private sector data

– There were minimal reporting requirements for private facilities

– There was fragmentation of data across councils, counties, ministries, and institutions

– There was also a feeling that digital platforms were contributing to workload without effectively capturing service delivery

Incentives Over Enforcement

A key theme that emerged was the understanding that enforcement alone cannot drive the submission of data on a regular basis, particularly outside of strong accountability structures.

Instead, hybrid approaches are being explored in the PRISM system that integrate:

• Light-touch regulatory requirements
• Participation through incentives
• A strong value proposition for facilities and professionals

Global experiences in countries such as Canada, the UK, and Australia illustrate that third-party, self-enforcing approaches can deliver virtually complete data coverage if stakeholders perceive tangible benefits to participation.

Creating Value Through Analytics

A key takeaway from the meeting was that data becomes valuable only when it can create value. The data system being designed in the PRISM initiative goes beyond traditional reports and provides:

• Real-time data
• Diagnostic analysis of trends (why they are occurring)
• Predictive analysis of trends (what might happen next)

This enables informed decision-making regarding training needs, deployment, migration, and investment strategies.

Tracking the Full Workforce Lifecycle

A key theme that emerged from the meeting was the importance of understanding the entire lifecycle of the health workforce, from training and licensing through to work and eventual exit.

Of particular interest in this regard is migration, and the meeting highlighted that 70-80% of migration does not occur through formal agreements, making this an important issue to track in order to inform engagements with the Ministries of Health, Labour, and Foreign Affairs.

A Digital Platform Built on Trust

The proposed digital platform by PRISM will be secure, privacy-conscious, useful to the data providers themselves, capable of using multiple data sources, and supporting AI-enabled analytics and policy feedback loops. This will help reduce the burden on the data providers while increasing the quality of the data.

A Shared Commitment

The meeting was ended by the realization that there is a need for shared ownership, collaboration, and innovation to make the health workforce intelligence system functional. The need for PRISM to be a convener was reaffirmed, together with the commitment by the partners to co-create the solutions that are practical, credible, and sustainable.

As the health system continues to face numerous challenges, the need to make informed decisions is no longer a choice. The work done by PRISM is a step in the right direction to ensure that the data is not only collected but is trusted, shared, and utilized.