Designing and Implementing Hospital Management Information Systems in Developing Countries: Case Studies from Tanzania – Zanzibar
Loading...
Date
2007
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Research and development projects have shown the need for strengthening hospital management information
systems (HMIS) [1][2], but this has proven a difficult task, especially in developing countries [3][4][5]. The
hospitals in Zanzibar have experienced problems in collecting and managing health care data due to fragmented
structures and lack of standardisation. This paper analyses an on-going participatory design effort involving
computer experts, health workers and hospital mangers in joint development of an integrated health information
system the hospitals in Zanzibar. The challenges encountered during the process were related to the negotiation
of standardised data collection, the busy schedule of health workers hampering a participatory process, the low
level of computer knowledge among the health workers, the difficulties of getting correct data from the lower
level’s register books, and the continuous process of establishing a culture of information use. Key lessons
learned from this case study are the need to provide sufficient time to implement HIS in this context due to the
difficulty of health workers and mangers to understand the logics of a computerised information system, which
is needed to take full advantage of the technology. A long-term mutual training process where technical and
medical/managerial personnel work together on improving information use is proposed to overcome this
challenge.
Description
Keywords
Action Research, Participatory design, Hospital Management Information System (HMIS), Data management, Health Information Systems Programme (HISP), Integration
Citation
Igira, F.T., Titlestad, O.H., Lungo, J.H., Makungu, A., Khamis, M.M., Sheikh, Y., Mahundi, M., Ngeni, M.J., Suleiman, O. and Braa, J., 2007. Designing and implementing hospital management information systems in developing countries: case studies from Tanzania-Zanzibar. Health Informatics in Africa (HELINA).