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    • #46262
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      When developing a disaster recovery plan for my organization with varying technical skills, limited budget but medium-scale critical operations, it is important to balance between cost-effectiveness and disruption of services.

      Risk Analysis and Assessment: It is the first thing I should do to analyze and identify the external risks such as disasters, facility risks such as power outage, data system risks such as data backup failure, departmental risks, and desk-level risks. Then, calculating the likelihood, impact, and restoration time along with associated risks can assist me in prioritizing and preparing necessary procedures in my recovery procedures.

      Anticipated Effects: The second procedure is the identifying the anticipated effects of the disasters along with the cost of downtime and lists of anticipated affected entities. It is the process of matching potential risks and anticipated effects on the system.

      Evaluation of Disaster Recovery Procedures: After analyzing the risks and anticipated effects, it is time to evaluate the existing disaster recovery procedures and mechanism such as spare server, multiple power supply, and backup of critical data. When evaluating them, it is necessary to balance between cost and impact of those systems.

      Organizational Considerations: Since the organization has limited budget, sometimes, it is not possible to choose multiple sources of power supply to the whole system, but it must ensure enough power supply for the critical data system in those times of disaster. Instead of backing up the full data, backing only critical data and replicating them can be an effective in the case of downtime while cutting some budget.

      Additionally, an organization with the people with varying technical skills can be sometimes challenging to respond timely in case of an emergency. So, it is necessary to have a list of focal point of contacts from each department that are essential in responding a disaster. Besides, providing training on cybersecurity and data security and mock drill can prepare them for a potential disaster.

    • #46249
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Wannisa, thank you sharing your proposed project for Diabetes with us. I like your data flow chart which clearly depicts your system. Having a sentinel site and actively seeking cases of diabetes can assist MoPH to identify more cases and unearth hitherto undetected cases. But in my opinion, having a syndromic surveillance system would be hard for the cases of diabetes as diabetes is a multifaceted disease with a wide-ranging symptoms. My question is “Do you have any symptoms selected for Diabetes syndromic surveillance system?”.

    • #46248
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, thank you for sharing your project along with the background information of Myanmar. I also faced challenges in formulating a surveillance system due to current situations as we seek to interoperability while the situation in Myanmar becomes more and more fractured and data will be in silo in their own respective controlled areas.

    • #46214
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Aye, thank you for sharing your proposed project for malaria surveillance for Myanmar. Malaria has been plaguing Myanmar for several years especially in its hilly regions. So, having a sentinel surveillance where normal health clinics and facilities cannot reach is a good thing. Additionally, would not it be a better idea to incorporate ethnic health facilities and consider their rules and regulations as there are many areas governed by ethnic administration?

    • #46199
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Implementing high availability (HA) in one’s hospital has many benefits for both patients and the hospital such as improving the patients’ safety and operational efficiency of the service delivered.

      Patients: For the patients, being able to access the critical health services (such as being able to book an urgent appointment for counseling services for their mental well-being and worries related to their conditions) at their time of need can go a long way. Consequently, it can lead to having more trust and satisfaction in the services they received from the facilities by improving their experience. Besides, it can improve patients’ safety by being able to access their medical records and history in critical times like emergency situations for better clinical decision support.

      Hospitals: Minimizing downtime and ensuring high availability can enhance the operational continuity of the important hospital services including patient management system, and clinical decision support system (CDSS). Being able to pull up patient record at their time of need, clinicians can provide better clinical decision and care. Additionally, having high availability by applying systems like RAID and other redundant systems can ensure data protection and security. After all, having a disaster recovery plan and backups can prevent from the loss of sensitive and valuable patient information. By doing so, it enhances the experience and safety of the patients resulting in high reputation for the hospital.

    • #46192
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Tanaphum, thank you for sharing your proposed hybrid system on dengue surveillance. I think it is a good idea to use both disease and syndromic surveillance. Additionally, having a weak definition will allow you more flexibility in your system. Regarding your data flow, using models and algorithm can support decision-making process. However, it would be better if I could learn more about the data flow in detail like how you will collect those data from the frontline, for example, schools or clinics.

    • #46162
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      As a team leader in data analysis and academic team, I have completed quite a number of projects. The things that come natural to me were “defining the project”, “listing the task”, and “planning the running order”. For example, if the project is “developing a dashboard for dengue fever”. I can effectively break down the project into smaller and more manageable tasks and listing the order to proceed such as choosing the tools, where to obtain the source data, who will collect and clean the data, and who will analyze and create the dashboard.

      Additionally, using Gantt chart is more formal and sometimes, and so I use more customizable template designed for each project for tracking and monitoring the progress. Finding the balance between resource available and needed also takes time, so in that case, I usually use communication skills to discuss with stakeholders for the possible outcomes.

      However, I sometimes find it hard to assess risk and add contingency plan. This is the area that I need some support. Having a team meeting and brainstorming will learn more about potential risks and ways for contingency plan.

      Additionally, re-adjusting the plan is also hard for me due to the time and resource constraint of the nature of the project. Time is the hardest variable to adjust for me especially when your project depends on another project from different department. However, sometimes, it is necessary to delay the project and make it more efficient.

      Lastly, reviewing is not formally done, instead, we usually have a team discussion meeting after launching a dashboard or a course, and then we listen to each other’s perspectives on our project and how to improve it. Then, we close the project.

    • #46153
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      I have never experienced a breach in organizational data or information system. However, I have known a case where some of the sensitive data from a facility was breached in my region. So, I will use this case instead, but I would not mention the name of the organization and those who are affected in detail.

      How it happened: Identifiable information including the person’s full name, parent’s name, national registration number, as well as estimated location was breached by a malicious user. And those data were shared publicly through social media including Facebook. An investigation committee was established and found out that an executive member of the information system shared the data using a social messaging application to one of the staff for matter. However, the end user forwarded it to the one who are seeking that information outside of the organization and used it to blackmail and dis-credit the organization.

      The impact: It led to the flooding of messages from the affected persons and temporary shutdown of the whole facility. Even though an investigation committee found out the culprit who forwarded the message to the person outside of the organization and hold the person accountable, the image of the organization was shattered and many people stopped using the facility, and finally led to the closure of the facility.

      How to prevent it: Firstly, sending messages across the social media without any encryption method should be avoided. Additionally, sending the raw data that contains sensitive information should not be done without proper security protocols. Both the primary sender and the culprit who forwarded to the malicious person are responsible in this case. Secondly, it highlights that the organization itself is responsible as it does not have proper security protocol and data sharing policy. So, to prevent this type of incident from happening, we need to keep in mind the importance of having the security protocols, data protection policy, limiting the access of information, and sharing only minimum information. Organizations as well as their members should be aware of those protocols and procedures when sharing sensitive information. Providing session on digital security and policy briefing is also an effective way to prevent such incidents from happening again.

    • #46111
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      I was an academic manager of medical department at a local education organization. My team consists of eight members including me. Since most of them are students, they are usually energetic and active in teamwork. However, there are times when they feel less engaged, so I had to use the following tricks to motivate them.

      Firstly, in those times, I called a team meeting and explained about what the purpose of our team and our current project is and asked them about how we should improve current workflow or current projects. This team meeting usually serves two things. First, it creates an opportunity to talk to each other and how our project is coming. Secondly, by sharing our purpose and listening to feedback from each other, we will have more understanding on what to do and expect next.

      Secondly, I applied recognition and appreciation method to motivate my team. Each team member has their own strengths and weaknesses. So, I usually let them know that they are doing a great job and there are people who will support you along the way. Sometimes, I appreciate them as the whole team but sometimes, I appreciate each team member in their respective contribution. Appreciation and recognition can go a long way in a team and can create a strong sense of motivation.

      Thirdly, there are times, that I need something to motivate me. At such time, I usually reflect my past completed projects and how it contributed to the community. Reflection of past achievements and contribution mostly motivates me for the coming projects and missions.

    • #46081
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      There are two areas that I need to improve my listening skills. The first area is “understanding the big picture“. I am the type of person who are good at recalling details when someone is speaking. But being good at recalling details makes me hard to understand the bigger picture of what the speaker is conveying. So, I need to improve my listening skills so that I can have more understanding on what the big picture is, when someone is talking to me.

      To improve my understanding of bigger picture, instead of focusing too much on details and facts, I will try to understand the context of the conversation by paying attention to nonverbal cues, and body languages.

      Secondly, I need to improve “empathizing with the speaker“. As I have mentioned in the previous lesson, it is hard for me to understand what other people is feeling. As a result, I am kind of fail to empathize with the speaker when they are feeling emotional or in a difficult situation. So, I need to improve this aspect of listening skills as well.

      To improve my empathy, I will try to listen more, paying more attention to emotional clues like facial expression and the tone of the speaker. Then, I will note down some phrases to start with empathizing like “I understand it must have been a difficult time for you”, and so on.

    • #46349
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Siriluk, I agree with you that having activation criteria along with a clear communication plan during disaster is an important aspect of effective coordination of disaster recovery plan. Additionally, like you mentioned, we need to consider cost effective backups option as well along with regular testing and training.

    • #46339
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Aye, yes, it agree with you that assessing and analyzing risks is the first and major step we should take in preparing a disaster recovery plan. Like you mentioned, the committee must be composed of dedicated persons from different departments. Just come to my mind, I think it would also be beneficial for the organization to include public relationship specialist to manage the reporting of the disaster effectively.

    • #46338
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, I agree with you that instead of having a call tree, we should call everyone involved in the team, especially if the team are small like you mentioned. Additionally, automating the redundancy systems would come in handy in the case of system breakdowns.

    • #46295
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Thank you for your comment Aye, yes, having a small discussion in closing phase is a great alternative way for formal evaluation.

    • #46294
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Tanaphum, thank you for sharing your experience as a research software engineer. I agree with you that we do not necessarily have to follow all the steps of the project management. But in general, our project should have a planning phase, executing phase, and closing phase.

    • #46287
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Aye, thank you for sharing your experience about project management. I can agree with you that allowing frequent non-essential adjustments can sometimes harm the whole project. So, having a clear objectives and clear features can also improve the communication between end users and the developers. Additionally, it is also a good practice to have a review session after a project for better improvements.

    • #46286
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Aye, yes, it is beneficial for the hospitals in the long run for having high availability system. However, sometimes, the immediate cost of having redundancy system can scare them. It is important to have a clear communication with them in delivering the benefits of the systems.

    • #46279
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Wannisa, yes, having a reliable HA system in one’s hospital can benefit both patients and the hospital itself in terms of care delivery and reputation.

    • #46272
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Wannisa, thank you for sharing the selected symptoms for your surveillance system. Yes, using them in combination like if one meets four out of this seven symptoms will also be a great filter to select diabetes patients.

    • #46271
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, I agree with you that problem statement is a important first step in managing a project. Using a gantt chart allows you to monitor and track where you are and what you should be expected at that specific period. However, like you mentioned, when more and more people are involved in the project, it is harder to track using a strict chart. Instead, like suggested in the linkedin course, we could use multiple gantt charts by dividing the projects into smaller chunks.

    • #46270
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Siriluk, I agree with you that high availability can provide major advantages in times of crisis and outages. However, there is also a need to balance between cost and the type of high availability (HA) we are going to implement. However, in the long run, HA can support hospital growth by improving patient’s satisfaction and system continuity.

    • #46267
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, I agree with you that we must balance between cost and the level of high availability. However, it is also important not to delay operation of patient’s service delivery. And having a secondary system like paper format can be handy in case of power outage, cyber attack, and internet outage.

    • #46251
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Wannisa, yes, having data from remote and hard-to-reach areas can uncover previously unknown insights that are valuable for the disease prevention.

    • #46250
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, I think Malaria is a notifiable disease in Myanmar, so I think the hospital can share the data without any identifiable variables with government related surveillance system. However, it will be very hard to do so in the current situation of Myanmar where all the state infrastructures and data flow is severely limited on both sides.

    • #46247
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Wannisa, yes, I agree with you that having an audit trail and log can backtrack who edited the data, ensuring the data integrity. Additionally, having a backup and contingency plan can become handy in case of cyberattacks and data breach.

    • #46246
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Tanaphum, yes, my username and passwords were included in a data breach of Wattpad, a story reading application. Fortunately, I have used 2FA for some time, so my account was safe even though there was a breach of my login credentials.

    • #46245
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Siriluk, thank you for sharing the incident with us. Human errors has been one of the leading causes of data breaches. Like you suggested, using an encrypted protocol and having regular training session on security awareness and implementing minimum necessary access principle can reduce those incidents in the long run.

    • #46215
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Aye, I have just seen your presentation, it is a great presentation as well. You covered some areas that I have forgotten to consider like WHO framework in legal consideration.

    • #46204
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Aye, it is a great habit to put your team member in-charge of their task as micro-managing can do more harm to the project. Additionally, appreciating their effort and achievements can sure go a long way in the team.

    • #46203
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, yes, it is a threat for the organizations. It is a commendable fact that your organization has the proper back up policy. Besides, implementing proper offboarding policies would deter such attacks from happening. Additionally, it would be better if your system has a log to check the activity done to your data.

    • #46200
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Aye, it is a great boost for team morale if the leader praises and appreciates their efforts. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

    • #46195
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, yes, Risk Matrix is a great tool for project risk assessment. Thank you for your suggestion.

    • #46194
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Wannisa, yes, I totally agree with you that showing mutual respect and sincerity to team members can go a long way in building a work relationship, enhancing team work and collaboration. Besides, asking for assistance from expertise when needed is also a great step to improve the project.

    • #46193
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, yes, having a harmony at work is a commendable situation for all members in a team. And having a partner that has the skill sets that you mentioned is a great opportunity for the team to grow. Additionally, having a diverse team with diverse characters and skills is also necessary for resolving conflicts at work.

    • #46164
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Tanaphum, yes, thank you for your suggestion. It would be a great idea to reduce errors in terms of system quality.

    • #46144
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Wannisa, it is a good plan to have a pen and paper near you to improve your skills “recalling details”. Additionally, I suggest that you should also ask the speaker to clarify if it is the statistics they requested. I understand if the speaker is a senior, you would be afraid to ask her to repeat again. But clarifying is a great tool as it could potentially save you from doing unnecessary work and having to fix the mistaken work.

    • #46143
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Aye, I understand your distraction during some meetings as it happens to me sometimes as well. I believe it depends on the duration of meeting. Some meetings are longer than it should be, in those meetings, I try to refresh myself with drinking water and going out for some time to refresh myself. Additionally, I suggest the team leads that a meeting should not be too long. During my work as an academic manager, I usually kept most meeting under one hour, it kept most people engaging. So, sometimes, it is not your fault, it is due to the length of the meeting.

    • #46142
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Tanaphum, it is a good thing to start with something you enjoy. Additionally, one of my teacher suggested that pausing a lot can deter you from learning, instead, she suggested that I should guess the context if I do not understand a word in a sentence. It improved my comprehension skill a lot. I hope you could try it sometimes.

    • #46102
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Aye, yes, I agree with you that both leaders have utilized some or most of the elements of CERC. However, PM Lee was a better communicator as he not only adhered those principles but also embodied it. On the other hand, though then President Trump used some elements of CERC, his approach led to confusion and reduced the trust in government actions and programs related to COVID-19.

    • #46101
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Wannisa, come to think of it, though the address from Trump has focused less on facts and empathy, he sure uses his direct speaking as his strength in addressing the nation. His focus is more on economy and travel restrictions, both are effective methods during COVID-19. Though I still believe that Trump did a bad job in addressing, I really thank you for highlighting his strengths and approaches in this speech.

    • #46100
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, I agree with you that there is a significant difference in the focus between both leaders. While one approaches with facts and empathy, the other only spoke with praises on his administration. This highlights the importance of communication in emergency and risk situations.

    • #46099
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Siriluk, it is a great strength to have a empathizing quality. Like you mentioned, it can improve team work by having a shared understanding. To motivate yourself, you should try having a small goal even if it is a repititive job. Having an achievable goal will surely motivate you.

    • #46098
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Thank you for your suggestion, Aye. Yes, I need to improve building connections with others by reflecting their feeling along with active listening.

    • #46078
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, thank you for your kind words and suggestion. Like you suggested, putting myself in other’s shoes and reflecting my experience on similar circumstances can assist me in empathizing what others are feeling.

    • #46077
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Cing, it is a strength to understand what others are feeling without any judgement. Since you are an introvert, it is understandable that it would take you much effort to express outward empathy. Yes, I agree with your action plan like listening to music, and playing your favorite games can get you through those emotional turnmoil. I also used those things when I felt stressed and got emotional. It helped me a lot.

    • #46050
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Tanaphum, thank you for sharing your points in emotional intelligence along with action plan. I agree with you that finding joy in small things in one’s life is a major strength as well. Additionally, I am also the kind of person who do not think too much about what other people think of me, however, we need to balance logics with empathy so that it is better in building relationship.

    • #46036
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Aye, I agree with your views on the areas of improvement for Myanmar. The trust in authorities has been a sharp decline since the coup. Additionally, consequences spun from the coup has led to collapse of many reform programs and digitalization and innovation of healthcare system. I do hope so that we could rebuild it in a foreseeable time.

    • #46035
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Tanaphum, digitalization of patient’s health record has been a difficult one in most countries, due to lack of supportive healthcare techno-infrastructure. However, with support from government and private sectors, we could envision a scenario where our healthcare sectors use paperless and digitalized health records.

    • #46034
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Hello Wannisa, yes, ensuring personal data protectin act are simple and easy to understand for everyone is a good start for improving trust and transparency. Additionally, I agree with you that no matter how advanced the technology is, there is still a need to improve the digital literacy so that digital equity can be achieved. You have provided a thorough plan for improvement.

    • #46033
      Aung Thura Htoo
      Participant

      Thanks, Wannisa, for highlighting the need of robust assessment before declaring it as PEHIC. I agree with your suggestion.

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