Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35248035›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2022

Direct financial assistance for improved maternal and child health data: a pilot study supporting the health management information system in Malawi.

Mariame O Ouedraogo, Madalitso Tolani, Janet Mambulasa, Katie McLaughlin, Diego G Bassani, Britt McKinnon

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Article in BMC health services research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Mariame O OuedraogoCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada. m.ouedraogo@mail.utoronto.ca.
Madalitso TolaniAmref Health Africa, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Janet MambulasaAmref Health Africa, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Katie McLaughlinCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada.
Diego G BassaniCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada.
Britt McKinnonCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe health management information system (HMIS) is an integral component of a strong health care system. Despite its importance for decision-making, the quality of HMIS data remains of concern in low- and middle-income countries. To address challenges with the quality of maternal and child health (MCH) data gathered within Malawi's HMIS, we conducted a pilot study evaluating different support modalities to district-level HMIS offices. We hypothesized that providing regular, direct financial assistance to HMIS offices would enable staff to establish strategies and priorities based on local context, resulting in more accurate, timely, and complete MCH data.

methodsThe pilot intervention was implemented in Mwanza district, while Chikwawa, Neno, and Ntchisi districts served as control sites given support received from other institutions. The intervention consisted of providing direct financial assistance to Mwanza's HMIS office following the submission of detailed budgets and lists of planned activities. In the control districts, we performed interviews with the HMIS officers to track the HMIS-related activities. We evaluated the intervention by comparing data quality between the post- and pre-intervention periods in the intervention and control districts. Additionally, we conducted interviews with Mwanza's HMIS office staff to determine the acceptability and appropriateness of the intervention.

resultsFollowing the 10-month intervention period, we observed improvements in MCH data quality in Mwanza. The availability and completeness of MCH data collected in the registers increased by 22 and 18 percentage points, respectively. The consistency of MCH data between summary reports and electronic HMIS also improved. In contrast, 2/3 control districts noted minimal changes or reductions in data quality after 10 months. The qualitative interviews confirmed that, despite some challenges, the intervention was well received by the participating HMIS office. HMIS staff preferred our strategy to other conventional strategies that fail to give them the independence to make decisions.

conclusionsThis pilot intervention demonstrated an alternative approach to support HMIS offices in their daily efforts to improve data quality. Given the Ministry of Health's (MoH) interest in strengthening its HMIS, our intervention provides a strategy that the MoH and local and international partners could consider to rapidly improve HMIS data with minimal oversight.

Indexed as

Child HealthManagement Information SystemsChildHumansMalawiPilot ProjectsTanzaniaHealth management information systemMalawiMaternal and child healthPilot intervention

Identifiers

PMID35248035
PMCPMC8898062

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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.