Data Collection App or Tool

Dear All,
In Sierra Leone, every district (13) has a DHMT who received
aggregated data report from the facilities (PHUs). During my
assessment i found a very big gap between data collection and data
entry which i am sure is affecting the quality of data in Sierra
Leone.

Firstly, Stock out of Data Entry Forms (paper based forms).

Secondly, Data Entry Clerks can't question information from the Data
Collectors neither will the HMIS Staff question the Data Entry Clerks;
because they are only entering what is on the paper base records they
received from their various PHUs.

In light of this, how can we closed this gap using an application
running on a very basic protocol (SMS or syncing).

Copy in this mail is someone who is willing to help us with partners
who might fund such a project.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

···

--
Regards,

Gerald

Hi Gerald.

You're raising a complex issue, and one that is not immediately solved by technology I think. So the main issue is that the 10 or so paper forms in Sierra Leone are not always coming in from the facilities to the districts, with the additional issue that district staff find it hard to reach back to the facility staff if they have any questions? Using mobile solutions might be helpful for both these issues, but will raise other issues of infrastructure, support and costs etc.

You can find info about DHIS2 mobile solutions here:
https://www.dhis2.org/doc/snapshot/en/user/html/ch24.html#mobile_intro

I also have a few comments:

1) If all facility reporting is affected by these problems, it would probably be too much to report by SMS anyway. There are hundreds of data elements. Mobile browser based data entry might be better
2) If you have logistical problems of supplying facilities with paper forms, you might have problems relying on a working distribution of phones also, which needs network coverage, charging, support, credits, etc.

Maybe someone on the list have experiences with mobile data collection they can share? I know such data collection once featured in the long-term plan for Sierra Leone.

Johan

···

On 15.09.2015 17:22, gerald thomas wrote:

Dear All,
In Sierra Leone, every district (13) has a DHMT who received
aggregated data report from the facilities (PHUs). During my
assessment i found a very big gap between data collection and data
entry which i am sure is affecting the quality of data in Sierra
Leone.

Firstly, Stock out of Data Entry Forms (paper based forms).

Secondly, Data Entry Clerks can't question information from the Data
Collectors neither will the HMIS Staff question the Data Entry Clerks;
because they are only entering what is on the paper base records they
received from their various PHUs.

In light of this, how can we closed this gap using an application
running on a very basic protocol (SMS or syncing).

Copy in this mail is someone who is willing to help us with partners
who might fund such a project.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Dear Johan,
I totally agreed with you but i am expecting the University of Olso or
DHIS2 developers to help me with a proposed solution; not a total
solution but something that might reduce the gap between data
collection and data entry.

Project like this usually have the support of NGOs which means
logistics won't be a problem for the first 5 years and since it might
be a piloting phase for Sierra Leone, with it success other countries
might benefit from such an application.

···

On 9/16/15, Johan Ivar Sæbø <johansa@ifi.uio.no> wrote:

Hi Gerald.

You're raising a complex issue, and one that is not immediately solved
by technology I think. So the main issue is that the 10 or so paper
forms in Sierra Leone are not always coming in from the facilities to
the districts, with the additional issue that district staff find it
hard to reach back to the facility staff if they have any questions?
Using mobile solutions might be helpful for both these issues, but will
raise other issues of infrastructure, support and costs etc.

You can find info about DHIS2 mobile solutions here:
https://www.dhis2.org/doc/snapshot/en/user/html/ch24.html#mobile_intro

I also have a few comments:

1) If all facility reporting is affected by these problems, it would
probably be too much to report by SMS anyway. There are hundreds of data
elements. Mobile browser based data entry might be better
2) If you have logistical problems of supplying facilities with paper
forms, you might have problems relying on a working distribution of
phones also, which needs network coverage, charging, support, credits, etc.

Maybe someone on the list have experiences with mobile data collection
they can share? I know such data collection once featured in the
long-term plan for Sierra Leone.

Johan

On 15.09.2015 17:22, gerald thomas wrote:

Dear All,
In Sierra Leone, every district (13) has a DHMT who received
aggregated data report from the facilities (PHUs). During my
assessment i found a very big gap between data collection and data
entry which i am sure is affecting the quality of data in Sierra
Leone.

Firstly, Stock out of Data Entry Forms (paper based forms).

Secondly, Data Entry Clerks can't question information from the Data
Collectors neither will the HMIS Staff question the Data Entry Clerks;
because they are only entering what is on the paper base records they
received from their various PHUs.

In light of this, how can we closed this gap using an application
running on a very basic protocol (SMS or syncing).

Copy in this mail is someone who is willing to help us with partners
who might fund such a project.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

--
Regards,

Gerald