Disaggregated data to improve child health outcomes

Abstract

Background: The District Health Information System was developed in South Africa to collectaggregated routine data from public health facilities. In Amajuba District, KwaZulu-Natal,ward-based data collection has been initiated to facilitate improved responsiveness tocommunity health needs and improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction.Aim: To assess the application of the municipal ward-based health data in the decision-makingprocess to improve child health outcomes.Setting: The study was conducted in 25 primary health care service sites in Amajuba.Methods: A cross-sectional mixed methods’ approach was used. The study populationcomprised operational managers, professional nurses, ward-based outreach team leaders andsupervisors. Quantitative data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire andanalysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were collected using focus groupdiscussions and analysed using thematic analysis.Results: Of the 131 respondents, 83 (67.5%) provided targeted child interventions to a certainor a large extent to improve child health outcomes, but only 74 (57.4%) respondents reportedusing municipal ward-based health data to a certain or large extent in order to inform theirdecisions. This discrepancy indicates poor utilisation of local health information for decisionmaking.Conclusion: The study showed that municipal ward-based health data are not fully utilisedfor making informed decisions to improve child health outcomes. It is imperative to inculcatea culture of evidence-informed decisions that leads to provision of targeted interventions inorder to mitigate the challenge of scarcity of resources and to improve child health outcomes