Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33031406›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

Improving quality and use of routine health information system data in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review.

Seblewengel Lemma, Annika Janson, Lars-Åke Persson, Deepthi Wickremasinghe, Carina Källestål

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
69citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

69 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Seblewengel LemmaDepartment of Disease control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, based at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.ORCID 0000-0001-5910-3723
Annika JansonDepartment of Disease control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, based at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.ORCID 0000-0001-5106-5670
Lars-Åke PerssonDepartment of Disease control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, based at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Deepthi WickremasingheDepartment of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Carina KällestålDepartment of Disease control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, based at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.ORCID 0000-0002-3206-6528

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA routine health information system is one of the essential components of a health system. Interventions to improve routine health information system data quality and use for decision-making in low- and middle-income countries differ in design, methods, and scope. There have been limited efforts to synthesise the knowledge across the currently available intervention studies. Thus, this scoping review synthesised published results from interventions that aimed at improving data quality and use in routine health information systems in low- and middle-income countries.

methodWe included articles on intervention studies that aimed to improve data quality and use within routine health information systems in low- and middle-income countries, published in English from January 2008 to February 2020. We searched the literature in the databases Medline/PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Global Health. After a meticulous screening, we identified 20 articles on data quality and 16 on data use. We prepared and presented the results as a narrative.

resultsMost of the studies were from Sub-Saharan Africa and designed as case studies. Interventions enhancing the quality of data targeted health facilities and staff within districts, and district health managers for improved data use. Combinations of technology enhancement along with capacity building activities, and data quality assessment and feedback system were found useful in improving data quality. Interventions facilitating data availability combined with technology enhancement increased the use of data for planning.

conclusionThe studies in this scoping review showed that a combination of interventions, addressing both behavioural and technical factors, improved data quality and use. Interventions addressing organisational factors were non-existent, but these factors were reported to pose challenges to the implementation and performance of reported interventions.

Indexed as

Africa South of the SaharaData ManagementDeveloping CountriesHealth FacilitiesHealth Information SystemsHumansIncomeQuality Improvement

Identifiers

PMID33031406
PMCPMC7544093

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.