Navigating the promise and pitfalls of dashboards in health policy decision making: experiences from Ghana, India, and South Africa

Abstract

Dashboards and other interactive web-based data visualisation tools are increasingly being developed to inform health policy at global, national, and subnational levels. Dashboards aim to make policy-relevant data accessible to support decision making, priority setting, policy development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation for those responsible for these functions. However, evidence on how well dashboards fulfil these functions is scarce. In this Viewpoint, we explore the development of dashboards on topics related to children's health and experiences of actors using dashboards in Ghana, India, and South Africa. Although some dashboards are useful for strategic and operational planning, public information, and accountability, many are not well suited for their designated purpose or not integrated into existing processes. Data unavailability, infrequent updates, and poor interoperability within data ecosystems often constrain the potential of dashboards. Governance frameworks limit incentives to improve data quality by restricting data to monitoring roles or failing to promote the active use of data. Although dashboard creation can uncover data-related problems and facilitate collaboration among actors to solve these problems, the development process is more time and resource intensive than many actors anticipate. We highlight the aspects of design, functionality, and context that influence the usefulness of dashboards, discuss practical challenges and opportunities, and offer recommendations to guide the development and implementation of data-driven tools for health policy initiatives.