ArticlePloS one2009
Challenges for routine health system data management in a large public programme to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in South Africa.
Article in PloS one, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 117 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
117 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Exploring Sustainability in the Era of Differentiated HIV Service Delivery in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2021Pooled it
- Towards Resilient Health Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review of the English Language Literature on Health Workforce, Surveillance, and Health Governance Issues for Health Systems Strengthening.Annals of global health · 2019Pooled it
- Trial
- The prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV cascade analysis tool: supporting health managers to improve facility-level service delivery.BMC research notes · 2014Trial
- Systems analysis and improvement to optimize pMTCT (SAIA): a cluster randomized trial.Implementation science : IS · 2014Trial
- Collecting maternal health information from HIV-positive pregnant women using mobile phone-assisted face-to-face interviews in Southern Africa.Journal of medical Internet research · 2013Trial
- Electronic laboratory system reduces errors in National Tuberculosis Program: a cluster randomized controlled trial.The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease · 2010Trial
- Enhancing Data-Driven Decision-Making in HIV Care With Viral Load and Early Infant Diagnosis Data Dashboards in Côte d'Ivoire: Qualitative Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Article
- Assessing institutional capacities to demand and use nutrition data for decision-making in Nigeria's health sector: A mixed-methods study.Health research policy and systems · 2025Article
- Article
- Why do female sex workers disengage from targeted reproductive and sexual health services? Experiences from the Sisters with a Voice programme in Zimbabwe.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- "I Didn't Reveal My ART Status Because I Didn't Have Money to Fetch the Transfer Letter"- Understanding Lack of Treatment Disclosure at Presentation to Care in South Africa: A Qualitative Study.AIDS and behavior · 2025Article
- Clinical Data Flow in Botswana Clinics: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Assessment.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- What could improve surgical data system at health facilities with high surgical volume in Ethiopia?BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Moving towards a person-centred HIV care cascade: An exploration of potential biases and errors in routine data in South Africa.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Triangulation of Routine Antenatal HIV Prevalence Data and Adjusted HIV Estimates in Mozambique.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2024Article
- Development and Testing Requirements for an Integrated Maternal and Child Health Information System in Iran: A Design Thinking Case Study.Methods of information in medicine · 2022Article
- The Effectiveness of the Capacity Building and Mentorship Program in Improving Evidence-Based Decision-making in the Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia: Difference-in-Differences Study.JMIR medical informatics · 2022Article
- Introducing field digital data collection systems into seasonal malaria chemoprevention campaigns: opportunities for robust evidence development and national e-health strategies.BMJ global health · 2022Review
57 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecent changes to South Africa's prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) guidelines have raised hope that the national goal of reducing perinatal HIV transmission rates to less than 5% can be attained. While programmatic efforts to reach this target are underway, obtaining complete and accurate data from clinical sites to track progress presents a major challenge. We assessed the completeness and accuracy of routine PMTCT data submitted to the district health information system (DHIS) in three districts of Kwazulu-Natal province, South Africa. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsWe surveyed the completeness and accuracy of data reported for six key PMTCT data elements between January and December 2007 from all 316 clinics and hospitals in three districts. Through visits to randomly selected sites, we reconstructed reports for the same six PMTCT data elements from clinic registers and assessed accuracy of the monthly reports previously submitted to the DHIS. Data elements were reported only 50.3% of the time and were "accurate" (i.e. within 10% of reconstructed values) 12.8% of the time. The data element "Antenatal Clients Tested for HIV" was the most accurate data element (i.e. consistent with the reconstructed value) 19.8% of the time, while "HIV PCR testing of baby born to HIV positive mother" was the least accurate with only 5.3% of clinics meeting the definition of accuracy. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Data collected and reported in the public health system across three large, high HIV-prevalence Districts was neither complete nor accurate enough to track process performance or outcomes for PMTCT care. Systematic data evaluation can determine the magnitude of the data reporting failure and guide site-specific improvements in data management. Solutions are currently being developed and tested to improve data quality.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.