Hi again,
Since the question of checkboxes for boolean dataelements is a general technical issue, allow me to forward this to the dev-list.
In general, I agree that checkboxes are more intuitive. However, please note that there is a subtle issue on what to do if the checkbox is not ticked - do you then store a NO value, or nothing? Today, we actually store the NO and YES value (as 0 and 1) only if it is selected in the dropdown, otherwise nothing gets stored (could be interpreted as “blank/NULL”, “not applicable”, “not responded” “form is not yet complete”). So it will be important to make sure the users (and we) understand the semantics of leaving a box unchecked).
This is a little similar to the “Zero is significant” setting that has been the topic of much discussion (the Indian NRHM guidelines explicitly recommends using Blank to indicate “Service not available” in contrast to a zero, which indicates “No cases this period”)
As for the current forms, it would be good if you could scan the original paper forms (both mother and child), and then indicate any changes you are planning to make. Also, please send screenshots of the current implementations (the PHP application and the local DHIS2 module).
Thanks,
Knut
···
On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 8:38 AM, Ola Hodne Titlestad olati@ifi.uio.no wrote:
Hi Kim Anh,
Before going ahead with this can you please provide a mock up/drawing of how you want to see the data entry form? That will better communicate your requirements to all of us and avoid any confusion.
Thanks,
Ola
On Feb 29, 2012 4:37 PM, “Kim-Anh Vo” catakim@gmail.com wrote:
Hi all,
There is a requirement from the local Mother-Child (Maternal) program
in Vietnam:
data-element boolean type with checkbox for entry (not combobox).
The requirement based on the current systems (paper and web-solution -
which is very limited for long-term use in the field and that’s why
DHIS2-tracking is counted for replacement) with checkboxes is very
familiar/friendly to the users and necessary for further aggregate
data in the reports. So, the development/customization of
DHIS2-tracking for Vietnam, (esp. the entry-form(maternal form) which
is the data-input) requires on-going adaptation.
Moreover, DHIS2-tracking global and local should be synchronized if
possible, so I’d like to suggest this as the first requirement from
Vietnam.
That would be good for us to have this approved (in order to have Tran
to develop) so that we could move on.
Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks!
P.S: I also Cc this email to Tran for further follow-ups
–
–
Best regards,
Kim-Anh Vo
–
Knut Staring
Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo
+4791880522
http://dhis2.org
Hi all,
Here is the paper form and the current system (entry). The entry of the
current running system and the current design with DHIS2Tracker.
And the cases of unchecked the users (of Vietnam case) do not care much the
reason why, just count on the checked one.
Moreover, the Maternal (Mother) Form program just cover the input data of
mother's situation and history of the previous pregnancy/delivery and the
information of the current delivery with complication if having.
Noting that the users of this system normally enter data for the forms
monthly with thousands of records/forms (one for each delivery case). So,
we're trying to support the best for the entry to fit their familiarity and
convenience.
For the Child program, currently at the field (Reproductive Health Center)
they just collect data for child-examination mainly under 5 (weight,
height, ...) and immunization (tracking of the doses of vaccines). So that
system has just a few data-entry (check the example of examination of the
php/mysl system). And in the design for DHIS2-Tracker of this program, we
use current combobox for entry of the Boolean values. (We did it because
it's that all currently supported)
But for the MaternalForm program... with lots of input (check out the paper
version: 1. Paper(maternalForm).png) the requirement of checkboxes quite
clear.
···
On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 3:14 PM, Knut Staring <knutst@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi again,
Since the question of checkboxes for boolean dataelements is a general
technical issue, allow me to forward this to the dev-list.
In general, I agree that checkboxes are more intuitive. However, please
note that there is a subtle issue on what to do if the checkbox is not
ticked - do you then store a NO value, or nothing? Today, we actually store
the NO and YES value (as 0 and 1) only if it is selected in the dropdown,
otherwise nothing gets stored (could be interpreted as "blank/NULL", "not
applicable", "not responded" "form is not yet complete"). So it will be
important to make sure the users (and we) understand the semantics of
leaving a box unchecked).
This is a little similar to the "Zero is significant" setting that has
been the topic of much discussion (the Indian NRHM guidelines explicitly
recommends using Blank to indicate "Service not available" in contrast to a
zero, which indicates "No cases this period")
As for the current forms, it would be good if you could scan the original
paper forms (both mother and child), and then indicate any changes you
are planning to make. Also, please send screenshots of the current
implementations (the PHP application and the local DHIS2 module).
Thanks,
Knut
On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 8:38 AM, Ola Hodne Titlestad <olati@ifi.uio.no>wrote:
Hi Kim Anh,
Before going ahead with this can you please provide a mock up/drawing of
how you want to see the data entry form? That will better communicate your
requirements to all of us and avoid any confusion.
Thanks,
Ola
-------
On Feb 29, 2012 4:37 PM, "Kim-Anh Vo" <catakim@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,
There is a requirement from the local Mother-Child (Maternal) program
in Vietnam:
data-element boolean type with checkbox for entry (not combobox).
The requirement based on the current systems (paper and web-solution -
which is very limited for long-term use in the field and that's why
DHIS2-tracking is counted for replacement) with checkboxes is very
familiar/friendly to the users and necessary for further aggregate
data in the reports. So, the development/customization of
DHIS2-tracking for Vietnam, (esp. the entry-form(maternal form) which
is the data-input) requires on-going adaptation.
Moreover, DHIS2-tracking global and local should be synchronized if
possible, so I'd like to suggest this as the first requirement from
Vietnam.
That would be good for us to have this approved (in order to have Tran
to develop) so that we could move on.
Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks!
P.S: I also Cc this email to Tran for further follow-ups
--
--
Best regards,
Kim-Anh Vo
--
Knut Staring
Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo
+4791880522
http://dhis2.org
--
--
Best regards,
Kim-Anh Vo