Integrating a project monitoring system into a public health network: Experiences from Alive & Thrive Vietnam

Abstract

Little information is available about how to build a monitoring system to measure the output of preventive nutrition interventions, such as counselling on infant and young child feeding. This paper describes the Alive & Thrive Vietnam (A&T) project experience in nesting a large-scale project monitoring system into the existing public health information system (e.g. using the system and resources), and in using monitoring data to strengthen service delivery in 15 provinces with A&T franchises. From January 2012 to April 2014, the 780 A&T franchises provided 1,700,000 counselling contacts (~3/4 by commune franchises). In commune franchises in April 2014, 80% of mothers who were pregnant or with children under two years old had been to the counselling service at least one time, and 87% of clients had been to the service earlier. Monitoring data are used to track the progress of the project, make decisions, provide background for a costing study and advocate for the integration of nutrition counselling indicators into the health information system nationwide. With careful attention to the needs of stakeholders at multiple levels, clear data quality assurance measures and strategic feedback mechanisms, it is feasible to monitor the scale-up of nutrition programmes through the existing routine health information system.

How Can Community Data Be Leveraged to Advance Primary Health Care? A Scoping Review of Community-Based Health Information Systems

“… 6 , 7 , 39 , 51 – 80 Twenty-six CBIS implementations were reported in Asia, including India, 81 – 86 Bangladesh, 10 , 87 – 89 Papua New Guinea, 9 , 10 , 87 , 90 Cambodia, 91 – 93 Myanmar, 87 , 94 , 95 among others. 96 – 100 , 103 Only 1 CBIS implementation was reported in South America: Colombia. 87 …”

“…These data were reviewed, aggregated, and submitted to PHC facilities, where they could be further aggregated and submitted to district-level and other subnational-level administrative units before reaching national-level integration. 20 , 24 , 25 , 31 , 32 , 39 , 43 , 49 , 51 , 53 , 54 , 58 , 61 , 63 , 65 , 67 , 73 – 77 , 79 , 83 , 87 – 92 , 96 , 99 , 100 , 104 With digitization, data reporting could be further streamlined where data could be immediately submitted and accessed at different levels of the health system from the point of community-level data collection. For example, the Maternal and Child Survival Program, whose implementation was described in 4 African countries, highlighted that data submitted using paper-based forms would often undergo data aggregation at both the health facility and district level before the data were transmitted to the national level.…”

“…The studies in this review also identified a number of strategies that could help improve data quality, primarily around the implementation of robust and largely digitized monitoring and evaluation systems that could identify strengths and gaps in CBIS data flow and facilitate real-time feedback on health system performance 32 , 35 , 59 , 65 , 70 , 96 ; components of this also included consistently implemented data review meetings with CHWs and CHW supervisors to promote accountability. 58 , 63 , 71 , 91 , 105…”

Intervention Design Elements Are Associated with Frontline Health Workers’ Performance to Deliver Infant and Young Child Nutrition Services in Bangladesh and Vietnam

“…In addition to training, FLWs in both countries were exposed to mass media, which consisted of nationally broadcasted TV spots that targeted mothers, family members, health workers, and local doctors with messages on various aspects of IYCF. In both countries, the programs also focused on monitoring and supportive supervision for FLWs and provided job aids and training materials; in Bangladesh, the volunteers received performance-based cash incentives (24, 25).…”

Health system research in Vietnam: Generating policy-relevant knowledge

“…Child malnutrition is still a problem in Vietnam and preventive measures are needed. Tuan, Alayon, Do, Ngan, and Hajeebhoy (2014) share experience from a large-scale project monitoring system integrated into the public health information system. In this project, monitoring data are used to track the progress of the project, make decisions, provide background for a costing study and advocate for the integration of nutrition counselling indicators into the health information system nationwide.…”