dhis2-users team mailing list archive

[Jason Pickering <jason.p.pickering@xxxxxxxxx>]

I am all for calling "it" what you want, but I do think "system" might be
going a bit too far actually.

DHIS is simply the software. What it is not, is the "system" which supports
the software, the typical distinction between the "Health Information
System" and the "Health management information software/system". In some
cases, "system" and "software" are used interchangeably, and often a lot of
focus is placed on the software, while the "system" which the software
simply supports, is not provided the same level of thought, and is often
much more complex because it involves people.

Regards,
Jason



On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 8:24 PM, Lars Kristian Roland <lars@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> As an example of an abbreviation that has changed meaning, I would mention
> GSM, which I believe first meant Group Speciale Mobile (excuse my french)
> and later Global System for Mobile communication.
>
> I would support Prosper's observation that District may not cover the
> distributed system that DHIS2 has become.
>
> MobiLars
> On 2013 5 2 15:12, "Knut Staring" <knutst@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> There is indeed a long history, as Jason points out, and the "district"
>> focus took its inspiration from the WHO Alma Ata Declaration from 1978 and
>> its focus on Primary Health Care and "Health For All"
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_Ata_Declaration
>>
>> Furthermore, the very first versions of DHIS came out of close
>> collaboration with three pilot districts in Cape Town:
>> http://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/research/networks/hisp/hisp-history.html
>> http://folk.uio.no/patrickr/refdoc/BraaHedberg02.pdf
>>
>> http://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/research/networks/hisp/integrated-health-information-architecture.html
>>
>> However, by this stage, it seems to me that the acronym DHIS has also
>> acquired quite an identity of its own, a bit like e.g. IBM, a name much
>> like others, which could be used without necessarily going into "what it
>> stands for".
>>
>> Knut
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 2:54 PM, Jason Pickering <
>> jason.p.pickering@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Proper,
>>>
>>> Remember, with open source software, you are free to call it what you
>>> want! I know of a private company who has now forked DHIS2 and are calling
>>> it something entirely different, for their own reasons. In other countries,
>>> DHIS2 has been  branded differently, according to their own acronyms.
>>>
>>> I would however, not expect a change on this, given the long history. :)
>>>
>>> My two cents,
>>> Jason
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 7:41 PM, Prosper BT <ptb3000@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Dear team,
>>>>
>>>> Quite often end users especially below and above the district level
>>>> have asked Why 'District' and we have struggled to explain this by first
>>>> telling history. In passing someone suggested renaming District to
>>>> Decentralized and Software to System.
>>>>
>>>> What it if in respect of maintaining the acronym it becomes
>>>> "Decentralized Health Information System - DHIS?
>>>>
>>>> 'Don't kill the messenger'
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Regards
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Prosper Behumbiize, MPH
>>>> Phone:        +256 414 320076
>>>> Cell:            +256 752 751776
>>>>                    +256 702 762707
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Knut Staring
>> Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo
>> +4791880522
>> http://dhis2.org
>>
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>>