Scholarlink

Background <p>In Uganda, the complete and timely reporting of priority disease data by health centers is critical for detecting outbreaks. However, all levels of health centers face significant reporting challenges, which compromise data fidelity and public health. To assess the efficacy of existing systems, we aimed to (i) compare reporting performance among districts in the Teso region of Eastern Uganda, (ii) ascertain the association between volume of outpatient department (OPD) visits and reporting rates at facilities, and (iii) characterize reporting challenges at public health facilities.</p> Methods <p>We queried Uganda’s Electronic Health Management Information System database, DHIS2, regarding the completeness (reporting rate) and timeliness (reporting rate on time) of priority disease data submission within Teso from January 1st-April 30th, 2024. We selected the three lowest-performing districts in both metrics and assessed reporting at all health centers within these districts. We used linear regression to determine the relationship between the aggregate number of outpatient visits per health facility and their mean reporting rates. At seven health facilities across the three districts, we conducted focused group discussions to enumerate reporting challenges.</p> Results <p>Of all 11 districts in Teso, seven (64%) scored ≥ 80% for completeness and two (18%) scored ≥ 80% for submission timeliness across health facilities. The median (IQR) scores for completeness and timeliness were 83% (75–93%) and 69% (55–75%), respectively. The three lowest performing districts in both metrics were Soroti City, Soroti district, and Ngora district. In Soroti City, increasing number of OPD visits was associated with higher reporting rate percentages (b [slope] = 0.005, <i>p</i> = 0.01). The main reasons given for low reporting rates included limited staff trained on data entry protocols, competing responsibilities, and lack of reliable internet access.</p> Conclusions <p>The implementation of DHIS2 has improved public health and disease surveillance in Uganda, but institutional-level data reporting challenges continue to impair disease tracking. Targeted interventions to relieve such barriers is possible.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Health data reporting challenges in public health facilities in the age of DHIS2: a mixed-methods study in the Teso sub-region of Uganda

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月20日

查看全文
  • Margaret R. Lawrence,
  • Benjamin P. Fuller,
  • Herbert Kirya Isabirye,
  • Carol Kyozira,
  • Issa Makumbi,
  • Andrew Bakainaga,
  • Christopher C. Moore,
  • Richard Ssekitoleko

摘要

Background

In Uganda, the complete and timely reporting of priority disease data by health centers is critical for detecting outbreaks. However, all levels of health centers face significant reporting challenges, which compromise data fidelity and public health. To assess the efficacy of existing systems, we aimed to (i) compare reporting performance among districts in the Teso region of Eastern Uganda, (ii) ascertain the association between volume of outpatient department (OPD) visits and reporting rates at facilities, and (iii) characterize reporting challenges at public health facilities.

Methods

We queried Uganda’s Electronic Health Management Information System database, DHIS2, regarding the completeness (reporting rate) and timeliness (reporting rate on time) of priority disease data submission within Teso from January 1st-April 30th, 2024. We selected the three lowest-performing districts in both metrics and assessed reporting at all health centers within these districts. We used linear regression to determine the relationship between the aggregate number of outpatient visits per health facility and their mean reporting rates. At seven health facilities across the three districts, we conducted focused group discussions to enumerate reporting challenges.

Results

Of all 11 districts in Teso, seven (64%) scored ≥ 80% for completeness and two (18%) scored ≥ 80% for submission timeliness across health facilities. The median (IQR) scores for completeness and timeliness were 83% (75–93%) and 69% (55–75%), respectively. The three lowest performing districts in both metrics were Soroti City, Soroti district, and Ngora district. In Soroti City, increasing number of OPD visits was associated with higher reporting rate percentages (b [slope] = 0.005, p = 0.01). The main reasons given for low reporting rates included limited staff trained on data entry protocols, competing responsibilities, and lack of reliable internet access.

Conclusions

The implementation of DHIS2 has improved public health and disease surveillance in Uganda, but institutional-level data reporting challenges continue to impair disease tracking. Targeted interventions to relieve such barriers is possible.