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DATA FOR THE BOSS: EVIDENCE OF NON-USE OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM 2(1) 3-12 UMU Press 2007 THEME ONE: MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES DATA FOR THE BOSS: EVIDENCE OF NON-USE OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (HMIS) DATA IN BUFUMBIRA EAST HEALTH SUB-DISTRICT, KISORO DISTRICT Nsekuye Paschal, Community Health Department, St. Francis Mutolere Hospital, Kisoro, Uganda Abstract A goal of the health management information system (HMIS) is to provide reliable, comprehensive information about the health system to health managers, to enable them take decisions that will improve the services provided to the consumers. Whereas HMIS quality concerns like the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of reports have been more commonly assessed and reported about in a number of studies, relatively less documentation is found on the actual utilisation of the information generated from HMIS reports. Yet, the HMIS is not an end in itself but just a tool to inform managers and enable them take informed and timely decisions. This study assessed the utilisation of HMIS data for decision making at the grassroots level in Bufumbira East Health Sub-District (HSD) of Kisoro District. It was found that HMIS data were not used for decision making at the point of collection and that the HMIS was dogged by many problems like few dedicated staff. The staff lacked sensitization on the HMIS and were not trained in completing the reports and data analysis. Lower level units submitted their data directly to the district bypassing the HSD. The HMIS was not planned for and lacked funding and stationery. HMIS functioning was not a subject for support supervision and there was only verbal feedback from the district level. It was recommended that the normal flow of HMIS data through the HSD level be re-established and that support supervision on the HMIS be instituted. Planning for the improvement of the system would ultimately lead to its utilisation. Introduction capabilities. The information collected should be simple A Health Management Information System (HMIS) is to obtain. Only the minimum required information the set of people and resources used to convert health must be collected so that analysis can be done quickly. data from internal and external sources into usable Feedback to the providers of the health data is an information. It should communicate that information essential component of any reporting system. It in an appropriate form to managers at all levels of the recognizes the source health units as part of a wider health system to enable them to make appropriate team. It also indicates to the unit staff the importance decisions. To be of use, information must be: timely, of data collection. Most health units would appreciate relevant, accurate, as detailed as needed, as frequent a written feedback with comparative information from as needed, as cheap as possible and must be all health units in the district (Stefanini, 1995). understandable to recipients and users. A HMIS has However, many health information systems are at least three broad components: the input (data), the characterized by a one-way upward flow of processing component in which data are transformed information to central level. If no feedback is given to into output information, and the output (information the providers of data, or if the form in which the for users). In a good HMIS, data collection should feedback is provided is too technical to comprehend, conform to the data requirements of the users (only they will not be motivated to put any effort into their relevant data) and to the available processing work and the quality of data will be poor. health policy and development 1 volume 5 number 1 april 2007 Nsekuye Paschal Analysis should not be limited to simply adding up also included in the manuals for use by the different numbers whether in the clinic or at the district, levels to reduce the dependency on feedback. The regional, provincial or central level. It should include health units and districts were provided with database coverage estimation for the services offered, books to record and monitor aggregated information comparing performance with targets at all levels, in one central place. management of the health facilities, preparation of monthly, quarterly and annual reports. It should also Information from the HMIS is supposed to be used include projections of what to expect in future. during the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of the annual health unit, HSD and district workplans. For effective planning and wise use of resources, Reports are compiled at health unit level and forwarded health planners need to know the scope of the problem to HSD level. At that level, reports from individual they are dealing with for example the number of people health units are compiled together with that of the who use the services offered, the most common HSD headquarter unit and forwarded to district level ailments affecting people in the service area and which from where further aggregation is done before being ones would be most cost-effective to tackle. Without forwarded to the Ministry of Health’s Resource Centre having a basis of sound information, health planners for analysis. Selected information is fed back to the run the risk of arbitrary management, with no district health committee, where it is used in planning, evidence-based strategy or informed reasoning for the monitoring and evaluating progress towards both decisions they take. This leaves a gap between planning district and national objectives. However, a study in and implementation. Many health facilities lack Kitovu, Kisubi and Nkonkonjeru hospitals indicated information on the size of the target population as that the HMIS was functioning poorly. The registers well as inputs and outputs in the catchment areas and contained raw data which were not aggregated. therefore cannot calculate their service coverage. Indicators were not calculated and analysis was done only for parts of the hospitals (Koot, 2000) An objective of the health management information system (HMIS) in Uganda is to provide an integrated Kisoro district, where this study was done, is located system of relevant and functional information on a in the extreme south western Uganda, about 510 routine basis. It was designed for use at the health kilometers from the capital, Kampala. It has a difficult unit, health sub-district (HSD), district and national mountainous terrain, with lakes and volcanic rocks levels for planning, managing and evaluating the health complicating access to health services by the care delivery system in order to continually improve population or access to the population by health the quality of health care in Uganda (Ministry of Health, workers in outreach programmes. This affects the 2001). The current HMIS takes into consideration all delivery of health system inputs like stationery for the the components of Uganda’s National Minimum Health HMIS as well as outputs like HMIS data. Bufumbira Care Package (UNMHCP). It serves as a monitoring East HSD has some of the remotest health units in the tool for the Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP) as district. It has one (private) hospital supervising seven well as being part of the national Integrated Disease government lower level health units (4 HC IIIs and 3 Surveillance (IDS). The information collected is HC IIs). The hospital (St. Francis Mutolere) is a functional and is meant to be used immediately even national HIV sentinel surveillance site posting a at the point of collection for management decision prevalence of about 2.1 % (MOH, 2002). It is therefore making. Lower levels should not wait for feedback a trusted source of data. on the information collected from higher levels before taking relevant action. Organizations need reliable information to make sound and well-informed decisions. It should be relevant, To ensure accuracy and consistency, the Ministry of timely, accurate, complete, from a source in which Health produced and distributed manuals describing the user has confidence, be understood by the user, the collection, compilation and use of the data to all be as detailed as needed for it to be used. Information health units. To ensure timeliness in reporting, deadlines for decision making is not only needed by higher level for submission of reports were fixed for each level. policymakers and managers but also health service To ensure relevance, indicators were developed to providers at other levels including the doctors, nurses, address some management needs of the health unit health technicians and community health workers who and included in the system. To ensure timely use of actually collect and aggregate the data. Unless the the information, the health unit, the HSD and the information is used, the considerable costs involved district should use the information as they also report in setting up and maintaining a HMIS can be difficult it upwards. Some indicators of performance were to justify. The HMIS is a tool for managers and is health policy and development 2 volume 5 number 1 april 2007 DATA FOR THE BOSS: EVIDENCE OF NON-USE OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM structured to help the district health team improve However, health information systems in most countries and maintain the health of the community. If it does are inadequate in providing the needed management not help in the planning, implementation and monitoring support (WHO, 1987; Lippeveld, 2000). There are of the primary health care activities by the health team, constant complaints of the heavy workload and lack it has no useful function (Bukenya, 1997). of facilitation for data collection. The data received are often not helpful for management decision-making Problem statement because they are incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, Despite the fact that the country has put in place a obsolete and unrelated to priority tasks and functions well-established HMIS starting from lower level health of the local health personnel (Lippeveld, 2000).