Describe the Problem

Why?

What?

How frequently does the problem occur?

When does it generally occur (for example, at a particular time of the year, on a set week, on a specific day)? Is the problem related to time?

Where does it generally occur (for example, is it limited to a particular area, or is it everywhere)? What relation does the problem have to location?

Who is most affected (for example, individuals or families, people of different gender, race, age, or socioeconomic status)?

How?

1. Use a flowchart to identify the flow of events in the process you are examining, such as the steps the users take to use the health service.

2. Decide on the indicator you will use to describe the problem. An indicator can be an amount, or the steps in a process. For example, if the indicator is "waiting time," you need to divide the number of patients who had a long waiting time by the number of all patients receiving care that day. That percentage is the indicator. You can use an indicator matrix to help you construct indicators.

3. Collect the data for describing the situation. This data can be collected from existing sources (such as Health Information Systems) or by direct observation. In the latter case, some of the techniques used for collecting data could be an exit interview, a supervision guide, or a tally sheet.

4. Describe the indicators graphically using tools such as:
   
   • A table, which enables you to present the data you have collected.

   • Graphs, which are very useful tools for presenting data, since they allow you to better visualize relationships, trends, or behaviors. You can use a

     • bar graph
       
     • line graph
       
     • pie chart
       
     • histogram