Strengthening data, analytic and scientific writing skills: Insights from working with 17 health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) centres in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

In the ever-evolving landscape of global health, Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) generate rare and valuable longitudinal data for understanding health and population dynamics and their determinants in low- and middle-income countries, where vital registration systems are often weak. However, the utility of HDSS centres relies heavily on the capabilities of those responsible for cleaning, describing and analysing the wealth of data they generate. This paper describes our targeted strategy for strengthening the capacity of personnel in HDSS research settings, particularly focusing on data managers and analysts. Additionally, we explore the unique challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic for HDSS research centres, emphasizing the need for a skilled workforce to navigate complex data dynamics. Our approach involved three in-person workshops dedicated to data preparation, analysis, and scientific writing, supplemented by weekly online check-ins and a 25-week writing program. Each workshop included two representatives from participating sites with skills aligned to the workshops. Following two years of intensive capacity building, this project has yielded 15 original research manuscripts currently under review, forming part of a journal special issue on the impact of COVID-19 on mortality in African and South Asian populations. Open-access aggregated data will complement these papers.