GHDonline.org: an innovative technology to leverage the wisdom of the crowds and improve global health delivery

Abstract

Background: In 2008, the Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard University launched an online platform to generate and disseminate knowledge in health-care delivery. We borrowed a common instrument from business—professional virtual communities—used for knowledge management and exchange across multiple organisations, industries, and geographies. We adapted the concept for health care to leverage the wisdom of the crowds and create a rapid, practical means for diverse professionals to share insights and tactics. Methods: A team of engineers, implementers, and providers built a lightweight platform, accounting for the reality of sporadic electricity service or restricted internet bandwidth in resource-limited settings and launched GHDonline in June, 2008. To foster reliability and engagement, the communities were led by expert moderators, discussions were open to all, and there was no anonymous posting. Findings: Even with early successes—membership growth and daily postings to communities—user feedback and analytics encouraged the team to iterate on GHDonline. Nuanced and in-depth conversations in the communities were turned into discussion briefs—summaries of the conversations reviewed by experts. GHDonline launched new public communities based on the most pressing concerns in the specialty, and organised more than 40 virtual expert panels. As of February, 2014, GHDonline hosted more than 11 000 members across 180 countries, in 12 public and 86 private communities. GHDonline is now expanding its offering to launch GHDonline communities for US-based practitioners. Interpretation: The increased use of GHDonline by health-care implementers suggests that professional virtual communities can be a valuable instrument to disseminate best practices, support collaboration between colleagues, and improve care delivery. Funding: Abundance Foundation.