ArticleBMC health services research2021
Data utilisation and factors influencing the performance of the health management information system in Tanzania.
Article in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Routine health information use among healthcare providers in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ health & care informatics · 2023Pooled it
- Stillbirth and newborn data quality and use and related input and process factors: findings of the IMPULSE study in Uganda.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- Partial pictures: what routine health data can and cannot tell us about the quality of maternal and neonatal health services in Tanzania.Health policy and planning · 2026Article
- Utilization of routine health information system and its determinants among healthcare professionals in public health facilities of Banadir region, Somalia: A cross-sectional study.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Variability in Perceived Healthcare Data Quality Across Tanzanian Regional Referral Hospitals: A Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Formal and informal digital health in Tanzania: healthcare workforce, regulatory and trust implications of e-patients and virtual care and the development of the TRUST framework.Frontiers in health services · 2026Review
- The influence of the IMPACT approach and healthcare workers' knowledge on antenatal care commodities availability in North Western Tanzania.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- Surviving institutional contradictions: routine data use practices at the subnational levels.Oxford open digital health · 2026Article
- Facility newborn and stillbirth data use and enabling factors at different levels of the health system: findings of the IMPULSE study across 142 sites in the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Functionalities of electronic routine health information systems related to newborn data: findings of the IMPULSE study in Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the Central African Republic.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Continuity of maternal and newborn health service provision among private sector players following donor transition. Hope amidst challenging implementation experiences in Uganda.Globalization and health · 2025Article
- Spatial heterogeneities in women's adherence to sulfadoxine pyrimethamine prophylaxis in Tanzania: Findings from the 2022 TDHS-MIS.IJID regions · 2025Article
- Organisational factors associated with implementing action plans informed by routine health information system data in Mozambique: longitudinal analyses, 2016-2020.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Utilisation of data and factors affecting the performance of the Health Management Information System (HMIS). The case of six Synods of Livingstonia health facilities in Malawi.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Utilisation of routine health information system and associated factors among health workers in public health institutions of Gofa zone, South Ethiopia regional state:a mixed-methods study.BMJ health & care informatics · 2025Article
- Strengthening Immunization Data: Protocol for the Evaluation of an Electronic Immunization Register.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- The impact of male contraception on global sexual and reproductive health and rights.Contraception · 2025Review
- Integrated rapid risk assessment for dengue fever in settings with limited diagnostic capacity and uncertain exposure: Development of a methodological framework for Tanzania.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Coaching visits and supportive supervision for primary care facilities to improve malaria service data quality in Ghana: An intervention case study.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHealth Management Information System (HMIS) is a set of data regularly collected at health care facilities to meet the needs of statistics on health services. This study aimed to determine the utilisation of HMIS data and factors influencing the health system's performance at the district and primary health care facility levels in Tanzania.
methodsThis cross-sectional study was carried out in 11 districts and involved 115 health care facilities in Tanzania. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to health workers at facility and district levels and documented using an observational checklist. Thematic content analysis approach was used to synthesise and triangulate the responses and observations to extract essential information.
resultsA total of 93 healthcare facility workers and 13 district officials were interviewed. About two-thirds (60%) of the facility respondents reported using the HMIS data, while only five out of 13 district respondents (38.5%) reported analysing HMIS data routinely. The HMIS data were mainly used for comparing performance in terms of services coverage (53%), monitoring of disease trends over time (50%), and providing evidence for community health education and promotion programmes (55%). The majority (41.4%) of the facility's personnel had not received any training on data management related to HMIS during the past 12 months prior to the survey. Less than half (42%) of the health facilities had received supervisory visits from the district office 3 months before this assessment. Nine district respondents (69.2%) reported systematically receiving feedback on the quality of their reports monthly and quarterly from higher authorities. Patient load was described to affect staff performance on data collection and management frequently.
conclusionInadequate analysis and poor data utilisation practices were common in most districts and health facilities in Tanzania. Inadequate human and financial resources, lack of incentives and supervision, and lack of standard operating procedures on data management were the significant challenges affecting the HMIS performance in Tanzania.
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