Using Data to Inform Community-Level Management ROUTINE HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS A Curriculum on Basic Concepts and Practice MODULE 6: RHIS Data Demand and Use SESSION 4: Using Data to Inform Community-Level Management The complete RHIS curriculum is available here: https://www.measureevaluation.org/our-work/ routine-health-information-systems/rhis-curriculum
Session 4: Learning Objectives Explain the importance of data at community level for the management of health services Demonstrate the skills to use data for problem identification, analysis, and action at community level
Data Collection at Community level Data of target population Population registry Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) registry Pregnant women registry; <1 children registry, etc. Individual and/or household data Demographic data Health conditions and treatment/services data Socioeconomic data Aggregate service data ANC 1; ANC 4, vaccination, malaria, <5 pneumonia Logistics data Outreach activities Start with brainstorming on this topic. Inform the participants that in this session we will be discussing mostly the use of information collected by the community-based health information system. To begin with, we will first look at what type of data is collected at the community level, and then examine who uses those data and for what purposes. Then will review examples of data use at the community level. Ask the participants to list the various data sets/elements that are collected by community health workers, paid or volunteers, trained or untrained. Match their responses with those on the slide.
Tools Uses for Data Collection Registers Health cards Tally sheets Tablets/computers Mobile phones Pictorial cards/books (used by less literate community health workers, or CHWs) Ask the participants what tools are used by the community health workers/service providers to collect data. Emphasize that both paper-based and electronic systems are in use now, ranging from pictorial data collection tools for relatively less literate CHWs to the use of IT.
Who Uses the Data? CHWs/care providers Health facility managers CHW supervisors District managers National health strategists and planners Policy advocates Community; e.g. Mothers’ group Civil society Human right activists Village/community council Civil administration Brainstorm on who use the data that CHWs collect at the community level. (Note: Here we are not talking about survey or census data that are also collected at the community level, but rather data that are collected by staff trained and engaged for only that purpose.) Match the responses to the suggested users given on the slide. Allow discussion for clarity and/or for expanding the list.
Purpose of Data Use at Community Level By CHWs Identify individual patients/clients and households Identify missed opportunities Promote continuity of care Plan outreach activities Follow up on referrals Detect early warning signals of disease outbreaks Community Monitor met and unmet community health needs Advocacy: for services, resources, service utilization, community participation Accountability Inform participants that in this session, we will particularly focus on the use of data at the community level. So, we focus on the CHWs or other community-level service providers (e.g. health promoters and OVC coordinators) who are also responsible for data collection. We’ll discuss how they use the data that they collect. We’ll also focus on the community itself: how can or does the community use the information collected at the community level by the CHWs and other service providers? Brainstorm on the different uses of the data collected at the community level: for what purposes do the CHWs and the community use the data? Data collected by the CHWs have a wide range of uses both for the CHWs themselves and for the community. Match the responses to the suggested users given on the slide. Allow discussion for clarity and/or for expanding the list.
Is Information Use at Community Level Helpful? Experience from Ethiopia Video on: “Small Package…Big Impact” (https://vimeo.com/140829594) Case Study 1: CHIS in Action in the SNNPR, Ethiopia Case Study: Analysis and Use of Data at the Community Level Inform the participants that we will watch a video on the community health information system (CHIS) in Ethiopia. This video will tell us about how the health extension workers (HEWs) at the health posts organize individual and household data to improve service delivery. Following the video, allow 5 minutes for reflection on the video, and inform that next we will have two case studies on information use at the community level.
ROUTINE HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS A Curriculum on Basic Concepts and Practice This presentation was produced with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of MEASURE Evaluation cooperative agreement AID-OAA-L-14-00004. MEASURE Evaluation is implemented by the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partnership with ICF International; John Snow, Inc.; Management Sciences for Health; Palladium; and Tulane University. The views expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States government.