abstract: 'Background Health data is one of the most valuable assets in health

  service delivery yet one of the most underutilized in especially

  low-income countries. Health data is postulated to improve health

  service delivery through availing avenues for optimal patient

  management, facility management, and public health surveillance and

  management. Advancements in information technology (IT) will further

  increase the value of data, but will also call for capacity readiness

  especially in rural health facilities. We aimed to understand the

  current knowledge, attitudes and practices of health workers towards

  health data management and utilization. Methods We conducted key

  informant interviews (KII) for health workers and data staff, and focus

  group discussions (FGD) for the village health teams (VHTs). We used

  both purposive and convenience sampling to recruit key informants, and

  convenience sampling to recruit village health teams. Interviews and

  discussions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. We manually

  generated the codes and we used thematic analysis to identify the

  themes. We also developed a reflexivity journal. Results We conducted a

  total of 6 key informant interviews and 3 focus group discussions of 29

  participants. Our analysis identified 7 themes: One theme underscored

  the health workers'' enthusiasm towards an optimal health data management

  setting. The rest of the six themes resonated around working remedies to

  the systemic challenges that grapple health data management and

  utilization at facilities in rural areas. These include: Building human

  resource capacity; Equipping the facilities; Improved coordination with

  partners; Improved data quality assurance; Promotion of a pull supply

  system and Reducing information relay time. Conclusion Our findings

  reveal a plethora of systematic challenges that have persistently

  undercut optimal routine health data management and utilization in rural

  areas and suggest possible working remedies. Health care workers express

  enthusiasm towards an optimal health management system but this isn''t

  matched by their technical capacity, facility readiness, systems and

  policy willingness. There is an urgent need to build rural lower

  facilities'' capacity in health data management and utilization which

  will also lay a foundation for exploitation of information technology in

  health.'
affiliation: 'Miiro, C (Corresponding Author), Makerere Univ, Dept Pharm, 7072, Kampala,
  Uganda.

  Miiro, Chraish; Musudo, Enoch, Makerere Univ, Dept Pharm, 7072, Kampala, Uganda.

  Ndawula, Josephine Caren; Bebembeire, Olivia; Sanya, Douglas, Makerere Univ, Sch
  Med, 7072, Kampala, Uganda.

  Nabuuma, Olivia Peace; Mpaata, Charles Norman; Nabukenya, Shamim; Akaka, Alex, Makerere
  Univ, Sch Hlth Sci, 7072, Kampala, Uganda.'
article-number: '187'
author: Miiro, Chraish and Ndawula, Josephine Caren and Musudo, Enoch and Nabuuma,
  Olivia Peace and Mpaata, Charles Norman and Nabukenya, Shamim and Akaka, Alex and
  Bebembeire, Olivia and Sanya, Douglas
author-email: miirochraish21@gmail.com
author_list:
- family: Miiro
  given: Chraish
- family: Ndawula
  given: Josephine Caren
- family: Musudo
  given: Enoch
- family: Nabuuma
  given: Olivia Peace
- family: Mpaata
  given: Charles Norman
- family: Nabukenya
  given: Shamim
- family: Akaka
  given: Alex
- family: Bebembeire
  given: Olivia
- family: Sanya
  given: Douglas
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1186/s12939-022-01814-1
eissn: 1475-9276
files: []
journal: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR EQUITY IN HEALTH
keywords: Health data; Healthcare professionals; Qualitative research
keywords-plus: INFORMATION; TECHNOLOGY; EFFICIENCY; RECORDS
language: English
month: DEC 28
number: '1'
number-of-cited-references: '46'
papis_id: a23a0cfcce18a57bdd5d552aae578674
ref: Miiro2022achievingoptimal
times-cited: '0'
title: 'Achieving optimal heath data impact in rural African healthcare settings:
  measures to barriers in Bukomansimbi District, Central Uganda'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000905614700001
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '2'
volume: '21'
web-of-science-categories: Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health
year: '2022'