The INFO (Information and Knowledge for Optimal Health) Project is housed at the

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private university, private research university primarily based in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded as the Johns Hopkins ...

Center for Communication Programs (JHU∙CCP) and is funded by the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

Areas of Expertise

INFO is a leader in

Knowledge Management Knowledge management (KM) is the set of procedures for producing, disseminating, utilizing, and overseeing an organization's knowledge and data. It alludes to a multidisciplinary strategy that maximizes knowledge utilization to accomplish organ ...

, generating, synthesizing and delivering evidence-based

reproductive health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's Human reproductive system, reproductive system and sexual well-being during all stages of their life. Se ...

and

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marit ...

knowledge. Knowledge management involves systematically and routinely creating, gathering, organizing, sharing, adapting and using knowledge - from both inside and outside an organization - to help achieve organizational goals and objectives. The INFO project aims to close the "know-do" gap among health providers in the developing world; according to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

many of the solutions to health problems of the poor exist, but are not being applied. This is called the "know-do" gap—the gap between what is known and what is done in practice. The INFO project disseminated the latest knowledge to health providers so they will be able to implement evidence-based

best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to alternatives because it tends to produce superior results. Best practices are used to achieve quality as an alternative to mandatory standards. Best practice ...

Tools for Knowledge Management

As of 2002, an estimated 113.6 million women in the developing world had an unmet need for contraception. In some areas myths persist about side effects of contraception discouraging use, while in other areas providers are unaware of how to recommend and counsel on family planning methods. The INFO Project uses a variety of tools to ensure evidence-based knowledge reaches the intended audience of health care practitioners, policy-makers, program managers, service providers, trainers donors, academics and researchers and to ensure that this unmet need is met. INFO uses the following to achieve its goals of disseminating information and ensuring the adoption of best practices: * Databases (One Source,

POPLINE POPLINE (or Population Information Online) was a reproductive health Bibliographic database, database, containing citations with abstracts to scientific articles, reports, books, and unpublished reports in the field of population, family planning, a ...

) * Publications (including Population Reports and INFO Reports) * eLearning Courses * Networks and Communities (Implementing Best Practices Knowledge Gateway, INFO Blog)

References

External links

*
Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers

The INFO Project Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Info Project Non-profit organizations based in Maryland Public health organizations