ArticleHealth research policy and systems2021
Using health data for decision-making at each level of the health system to achieve universal health coverage in Ethiopia: the case of an immunization programme in a low-resource setting.
Article in Health research policy and systems, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Community-Based Health Information Systems in Africa: A Scoping Review of Data Generation, Utilization, and Community Empowerment.Wellcome open research · 2024Pooled it
- Routine health information use among healthcare providers in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ health & care informatics · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of the data-informed platform for health intervention on the culture of data use for decision-making among district health office staff in North Shewa Zone, Ethiopia: a cluster-randomised controlled trial.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2024Trial
- Level and predictors of routine health management information system data management practice among health professionals working at public health facilities in Dire Dawa administration, eastern Ethiopia.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Fivefold Cross-Validation Approach in Evaluating the Robustness of Machine Learning Models for Prediction of Esophageal Cancer.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine · 2026Article
- Quality Improvement Initiatives in Pediatric Emergency Care in Low-Resource Settings: Addressing Patient Safety and Outcomes.International journal of pediatrics · 2026Review
- Differential acceptance of a national digital health platform among community and frontline health workers in Cote d'Ivoire: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Assessing the effectiveness of seasonal malaria chemoprevention on malaria burden among children under 5 in northern Benin: a statistical modelling approach.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Enablers, Challenges, and Lessons Learned From a Digital Health Intervention (Sehatmandi App) in Afghanistan: Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- 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
- 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
- Use of family planning information by primary healthcare clinic managers in South Africa.Health information management : journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia · 2025Article
- Effect of Augmented Capacity Development Interventions (ACDI) on Information Utilization for Decision-Making in the Routine Health Information System in Public Health Institutions of Gofa Zone, Southern Ethiopia: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.Health services insights · 2025Article
- Competency Level in Generation and Usage of Health Information Within the Landscape of Ghana.BioMed research international · 2025Article
- Discrepancy between official records of the Brazilian National Immunization Program Information System and the household survey about vaccination coverage in Cubatão, São Paulo: cross-sectional study, 2023.Epidemiologia e servicos de saude : revista do Sistema Unico de Saude do Brasil · 2025Article
- "I Do Not Believe We Should Disclose Everything to an Older Patient": Challenges and Ethical Concerns in Clinical Decision-Making in Old-Age Care in Ethiopia.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2024Article
- Postpartum modern family planning among women living with HIV attending care at health facilities in Busia County, Kenya.Contraception and reproductive medicine · 2024Article
- Routine health data use for decision making and its associated factors among primary healthcare managers in dodoma region.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Learnings From the Implementation of an Electronic Human Resource Management System for the Health Workforce in Uttar Pradesh, India.Global health, science and practice · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFor evidence-based decision-making, there is a need for quality, timely, relevant and accessible information at each level of the health system. Limited use of local data at each level of the health system is reported to be a main challenge for evidence-based decision-making in low- and middle-income countries. Although evidence is available on the timeliness and quality of local data, we know little about how it is used for decision-making at different levels of the health system. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of data use and its effect on data quality and shared accountability at different levels of the health system.
methodsAn implementation science study was conducted using key informants and document reviews between January and September 2017. A total of 21 key informants were selected from community representatives, data producers, data users and decision-makers from the community to the regional level. Reviewed documents include facility reports, district reports, zonal reports and feedback in supervision from the district. Thematic content analysis was performed for the qualitative data.
resultsRespondents reported that routine data use for routine decision-making was low. All health facilities and health offices have a performance monitoring team, but these were not always functional. Awareness gaps, lack of motivating incentives, irregularity of supportive supervision, lack of community engagement in health report verification as well as poor technical capacity of health professionals were found to be the major barriers to data use. The study also revealed that there are no institutional or national-level regulations or policies on the accountability mechanisms related to health data. The community-level Health Development Army programme was found to be a strong community engagement approach that can be leveraged for data verification at the source of community data.
conclusionThe culture of using routine data for decision-making at the local level was found to be low. Strengthening the capacity of health workers and performance monitoring teams, introducing incentive mechanisms for data use, engaging the community in data verification and introducing accountability mechanisms for health data are essential to improve data use and 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.