This community innovation has been accepted at the 2025 DHIS2 Annual Conference
Revolutionizing Mentorship with DHIS2 in Zambia
Background: Mentorship has been a key strategy in the Zambian health sector for improving healthcare provider skills and health outcomes. However, paper-based mentorship tools have posed challenges such as difficulties in data entry, storage, retrieval, and analysis. Tracking provider competencies over time has also been cumbersome due to manual data management. To enhance mentorship efficiency, with support from CHAI and other partners, mentorship sessions were digitized. Methods: Ministry of Health, in collaboration with CHAI, used DHIS2 to digitize various mentorship forms. Dashboards for data visualization were created, and in December 2024, the system was configured to operate on Android devices, enabling real-time data entry during mentorship sessions. The digital system includes a color-coded scorecard to track provider performance, ranging from critical gaps (red) to high proficiency (dark green). In January 2025, 125 family planning providers from 30 facilities across five provinces were mentored on contraception using DHIS2 tools. Results: The digitization improved data accessibility, reduced the burden of manual data entry, and allowed for real-time tracking of competencies. The Android platform simplified data capture during sessions, enhancing efficiency and reducing paperwork. Real-time analysis enabled informed decision-making and targeted interventions, while historical records were easily accessible for tracking provider progress. Key competency gaps identified included postpartum IUCD insertion (84.6%) and contraception counseling (53.8%). Conclusion: The digitization of mentorship tools using DHIS2 has improved mentorship efficiency in Zambia’s health sector by enhancing data accessibility, real-time tracking, and informed decision-making. This approach can guide policymakers and practitioners in adopting more efficient, data-driven mentorship programs, ensuring targeted interventions, and improving healthcare.
Primary Author: Fredrick Mumba
Keywords:
Digitization, Mentorship, DHIS2, Health sector, Data accessibility, Real-time tracking, Healthcare providers, Competency tracking, Professional development, Flexibility
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