Are socio-demographic factors associated with electronic Health Information System utilization?A cross sectional study of the District Health Information System -2 (DHIS-2) in Burundi

Abstract

The utilization of Electronic Health Information System is crucial in informing credible decision-making process, especially in developing countries. We aimed to investigate the socio-demographic factors of Health workers that are associated with their utilization of the DHIS-2 platform in Burundi. We conducted a cross-sectional study amongst health workers involved in collecting and validating data in health facilities. The male gender was more associated with the DHIS-2 effect on the enhancement of health information access (χ2 = 7.995, P=.005) than the female gender. Marital status was associated with quality information (χ2 = 6.437, P= .011) and health information management (χ2= 5.053, P= .025) improvement. The lower time travel to workplace was associated with the improvement of quality information (χ2= 11.224, P= .001) and health information management (χ2= 6.568, P= .010), training on DHIS-2 (χ2= 16.374, P= .000), DHIS-2 compatibility with health facility management tools (χ2 = 4.726, P= .030), national health information system design (χ2= 8.023, P= .005), compatibility with primary health information tools (χ2= 9.339, P= .002) and the national health policy objective (χ2= 9.699, P= .002), required security elements (χ2= 14.205, P= .000), data transfer security (χ2= 6.288, P= .012), data protection against modification (χ2= 6.497, P= .011), and assurance of personal privacy (χ2= 7.650, P= .006). The lower educational level was associated with information error minimization (χ2= 7.243, P= .007) and learning ease (χ2 = 4.175, P= .041). The health worker function was associated with DHIS-2 compatibility with national health policy objective (χ2 =4.496, P= .034). The geographical area of work was associated with DHIS-2 ease of use and interoperability assurance (χ2 = 10.287, P= .006; χ2 = 16.086, P= .000). There is a need to make the use of the DHIS-2 platform a global public health concern in fragile health systems for robust decision-making process.