State of data quality of routing Health Management Information System: Case of Uasin Gishu County Referral Hospital, Kenya

Abstract

Effective and efficient management of health system depend on well-functioning Health Management Information System. Massive data are continuously generated without clear understanding of its status in terms of data quality that affects overall quality for policy-making, planning and monitoring of health outcomes. Lack of data and information use culture with inadequate capacity to monitor present data being generated, limited technical skills, poor data handling, unclear processes eventually affect delivery of health services. Poor data quality may have adverse effects on decision-making. The study was conducted to assess the present state of data quality for routine health management information system. Cross-sectional study design was employed. Use of quantitative tools to collate data from all existing reporting tools focused on data availability, completeness, timeliness and accuracy from source documents. While qualitative tools were employed to generate more in-depth information of the subject matter. Results showed that 13 official forms were in use every month with expected 156 annual reports. A total of 74,460 data element exited in the same tools with reliability analysis using Cronbach’s Alpha .729 acceptable value and 48(16%) marginal error. The key informant interview confirmed a healing state of data quality with limited culture for information use.  In conclusion, data and information use culture is a cornerstone for better data quality for prudent management of resources and better health outcomes.

Keywords: State, data, quality, routine, health management information system