This community innovation has been accepted at the 2025 DHIS2 Annual Conference
Enhancing DHIS2 data quality with Action Plan App
Ministry of Health of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) adopted District Health Information Software version 2 (DHIS2) as the platform of the national Health Management Information System (HMIS) in 2013 and has since been working towards strengthening health data management in the country. Initially, HMIS was used for reporting aggregated administrative data from health facilities but is now transitioning to individual-level data collection using DHIS2 Tracker. Despite this progress, several challenges remain, including gaps in infrastructure, digital literacy, interoperability, data quality, and data utilization. Among these, enhancing data quality and promoting effective data use are critical focus areas. One reason for limited data use is poor data quality. Therefore, improving data quality is expected to enhance data use as well. Various programs are currently working to improve data quality in HMIS using the inbuilt data quality improvement tools available in DHIS2. These tools are effective at detecting data quality issues and resolving them. However, they lack the capability to track actions taken to address the data quality issues. To bridge this gap, we developed a new DHIS2-based custom web application aimed at improving data quality and use. The new application consolidates core data quality functions in DHIS2 into one platform and introduces a new feature to track actions proposed for resolving identified data quality issues. Additionally, the application integrates the traditional approval process to streamline workflows. We tested this application using Maternal and Child Health data and found that it is effective not only in improving data quality but also in enhancing data utilization for decision-making. This tool strengthens data quality and use, empowering more informed decisions ensuring better health outcomes.
Primary Author: Achala Upendra Jayatilleke
Keywords:
DHIS2, HMIS, data quality, data utilization, outliers, validation rules, Lao PDR, digital transformation, MCH, action
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