Browsing by Author "Pascoe, Luba"

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    Collecting Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Data through Mobile Phones
    (2012-01) Pascoe, Luba; Kaasbøll, Jens; Lungo, Juma H.; Koleleni, Ismail
    This study focuses on improving the routine reporting of health data by identifying the challenges associated with timely reporting of routine data from the primary health facilities to the district and determines how mobile phones can be used to overcome the problem and thus enhance information use for action at all levels of the health system. Findings have indicated that, timely reporting of routine health data face challenges such as poor infrastructure, remoteness of the health facilities from the district where they have to submit their reports as well as transport costs that health workers have to incur in order to submit their report. Facing these challenges, this research revealed that the use of mobile phone application built in the District Health Information System database can provide an easy, cost effective and reliable means for reporting of health data. Over a period of 5 months, the data completeness and timeliness improved from 50% to 89%. This implies that the routine reporting of around ten data elements through mobile phones is feasible. The study recommends rigorous supervision, which among other things checks for data quality and correctness.