Abstract:
Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the use of electronic
data storage systems for the purpose of improving the data quality, easy data access and
data use for decision making. Strategies have also been made by different health programs
to use the available district health information system (DHIS) and to employ staff for data
management responsibilities to assure data quality. The National Neglected Tropical
Diseases Control Program (NTDCP) in ensuring the quality of data collected from
different interventions such as MDA data collected at district and health facility level in is
captured in NTD MIS. Despite of the efforts of ensuring NTD data quality, quality of data
collected during MDA campaign in areas with persistent Lymphatic Filariasis transmission
has not been well documented.
Study Objective: To assess completeness and accuracy of lymphatic filariasis mass drugs
administration data in Kibaha District Council (DC)
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used employing both
quantitative and qualitative data collection methods in district level and 8 selected health
facilities in Kibaha DC. Questionnaires were used for data collection from district NTD
Coordinators and health facility workers, and checklist was used for review of hard copy
documents and electronically stored reports for the lymphatic filariasis MDA data of 2018.
The qualitative data collection involved in-depth interviews with 8 Health facility workers
mainly to assess organizational and technical factors associated with quality of lymphatic
filariasis MDA data. Quantitative data recounted from reports were analyzed using excel
software. Content analysis was used to analyze the data obtained from interviews with the
frontline health workers.
Results: The study findings showed that the completeness of electronic database was 42%
for health facility with data entered in the NTD MIS. Completeness of data in the hard
copies was good at the district level (100%) and varied among health facilities in MDA
registers, proportional of registers with complete data for the assessed indicators in the
respective health facility ranged from 60% to 88%. Data accuracy in the hard copies had
good measure for four indicators at district and two indicators at the health facility level.
The electronic data had good accuracy measure for two indicators. The findings also
showed that district NTD team provided supervision to the frontline health workers but
minimal emphasis on data management training to the health facility workers, the
following factors were cited by health facility workers including lack of enough data
storage space, inadequate skilled community drug distributors and limited knowledge
about data quality at health facility level.
Conclusion: The study findings have shown that the NTD data quality components of
completeness and accuracy vary among indicators, level of data compilation and type of
data storage. The poor data quality at health facility level can be associated with poor
training and insufficient skilled staff at the subdistrict level. There is need to have frequent
data management training as possible so to strengthen data management skills especially at health facility level and Community drug distributors (CDDs).
