Improving quality and use of data through data-use workshops: Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania

Βraa, Jørn; Heywood, Arthur; Sahay, Sundeep

doi:10.2471/blt.11.099580

Cited by 116 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The barriers, enablers and needs related to achieving the objectives are mapped to the relevant components of each intervention in Additional file 1. The findings of the local needs analysis are consistent with the current literature on EBDM using research and/or data [8–12, 15, 52, 62, 65, 91, 92], disinvestment and resource allocation [56–59, 61, 64, 70, 76, 93–95], and information needs of health service decision-makers [39, 40, 43, 45, 53, 89]. More recently, systematic reviews have identified interventions that have been demonstrated to enhance uptake of research evidence and these are also included in the matrix [8, 67, 96–99].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) 7: supporting staff in evidence-based decision-making, implementation and evaluation in a local healthcare setting

Harris

Allen

Waller

et al. 2017

BMC Health Serv Res

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BackgroundThis is the seventh in a series of papers reporting Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. The SHARE Program was a systematic, integrated, evidence-based program for resource allocation within a large Australian health service. It aimed to facilitate proactive use of evidence from research and local data; evidence-based decision-making for resource allocation including disinvestment; and development, implementation and evaluation of disinvestment projects. From the literature and responses of local stakeholders it was clear that provision of expertise and education, training and support of health service staff would be required to achieve these aims. Four support services were proposed. This paper is a detailed case report of the development, implementation and evaluation of a Data Service, Capacity Building Service and Project Support Service. An Evidence Service is reported separately.MethodsLiterature reviews, surveys, interviews, consultation and workshops were used to capture and process the relevant information. Existing theoretical frameworks were adapted for evaluation and explication of processes and outcomes.ResultsSurveys and interviews identified current practice in use of evidence in decision-making, implementation and evaluation; staff needs for evidence-based practice; nature, type and availability of local health service data; and preferred formats for education and training. The Capacity Building and Project Support Services were successful in achieving short term objectives; but long term outcomes were not evaluated due to reduced funding. The Data Service was not implemented at all. Factors influencing the processes and outcomes are discussed.ConclusionHealth service staff need access to education, training, expertise and support to enable evidence-based decision-making and to implement and evaluate the changes arising from those decisions. Three support services were proposed based on research evidence and local findings. Local factors, some unanticipated and some unavoidable, were the main barriers to successful implementation. All three proposed support services hold promise as facilitators of EBP in the local healthcare setting. The findings from this study will inform further exploration.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-017-2388-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) 7: supporting staff in evidence-based decision-making, implementation and evaluation in a local healthcare setting

Harris

Allen

Waller

et al. 2017

BMC Health Serv Res

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“…Also the existing system of feedback and supervision from higher levels of the health system should be strengthened (not only) to ensure the (correct) usage of compulsory documents, for example, through periodic random supervisory checks at the health facilities. The strengthening could also include the extension of institutionalized data quality feedback workshops (as currently successfully performed in Kenya at provincial level) to facility level (5). In these meetings, not only feedback on quality of data is given, but also a self-assessment of data quality and processing is performed and finally critiqued by colleagues to increase the level of quality awareness and data usage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where is information quality lost at clinical level? A mixed-method study on information systems and data quality in three urban Kenyan ANC clinics

Hahn¹,

Wanjala

Marx³

2013

Global Health Action

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BackgroundWell-working health information systems are considered vital with the quality of health data ranked of highest importance for decision making at patient care and policy levels. In particular, health facilities play an important role, since they are not only the entry point for the national health information system but also use health data (and primarily) for patient care.DesignA multiple case study was carried out between March and August 2012 at the antenatal care (ANC) clinics of two private and one public Kenyan hospital to describe clinical information systems and assess the quality of information. The following methods were developed and employed in an iterative process: workplace walkthroughs, structured and in-depth interviews with staff members, and a quantitative assessment of data quality (completeness and accurate transmission of clinical information and reports in ANC). Views of staff and management on the quality of employed information systems, data quality, and influencing factors were captured qualitatively.ResultsStaff rated the quality of information higher in the private hospitals employing computers than in the public hospital which relies on paper forms. Several potential threats to data quality were reported. Limitations in data quality were common at all study sites including wrong test results, missing registers, and inconsistencies in reports. Feedback was seldom on content or quality of reports and usage of data beyond individual patient care was low.ConclusionsWe argue that the limited data quality has to be seen in the broader perspective of the information systems in which it is produced and used. The combination of different methods has proven to be useful for this. To improve the effectiveness and capabilities of these systems, combined measures are needed which include technical and organizational aspects (e.g. regular feedback to health workers) and individual skills and motivation.

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“…Yet the relevance and quality of HMIS data in low- and lower-middle-income countries are often compromised and accessing data in a timely manner is usually difficult (Braa et al 2007, 2012). To improve the reliability and comparability of data from different sources HMIS data need to be standardized and harmonized.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

District decision-making for health in low-income settings: a systematic literature review

Wickremasinghe

Hashmi

Schellenberg

et al. 2016

Health Policy Plan.

108

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Health management information systems (HMIS) produce large amounts of data about health service provision and population health, and provide opportunities for data-based decision-making in decentralized health systems. Yet the data are little-used locally. A well-defined approach to district-level decision-making using health data would help better meet the needs of the local population. In this second of four papers on district decision-making for health in low-income settings, our aim was to explore ways in which district administrators and health managers in low- and lower-middle-income countries use health data to make decisions, to describe the decision-making tools they used and identify challenges encountered when using these tools. A systematic literature review, following PRISMA guidelines, was undertaken. Experts were consulted about key sources of information. A search strategy was developed for 14 online databases of peer reviewed and grey literature. The resources were screened independently by two reviewers using pre-defined inclusion criteria. The 14 papers included were assessed for the quality of reported evidence and a descriptive evidence synthesis of the review findings was undertaken. We found 12 examples of tools to assist district-level decision-making, all of which included two key stages—identification of priorities, and development of an action plan to address them. Of those tools with more steps, four included steps to review or monitor the action plan agreed, suggesting the use of HMIS data. In eight papers HMIS data were used for prioritization. Challenges to decision-making processes fell into three main categories: the availability and quality of health and health facility data; human dynamics and financial constraints. Our findings suggest that evidence is available about a limited range of processes that include the use of data for decision-making at district level. Standardization and pre-testing in diverse settings would increase the potential that these tools could be used more widely.

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Improving quality and use of data through data-use workshops: Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania

Cited by 116 publications

References 6 publications

Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) 7: supporting staff in evidence-based decision-making, implementation and evaluation in a local healthcare setting

Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) 7: supporting staff in evidence-based decision-making, implementation and evaluation in a local healthcare setting

Where is information quality lost at clinical level? A mixed-method study on information systems and data quality in three urban Kenyan ANC clinics

District decision-making for health in low-income settings: a systematic literature review

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