Strengthening the Performance of Kenya’s Health Information System: Improvements in Data Quality and Use at the County Level

Download Document:
PDF document icon

tr-19-336.pdf — PDF document, 2,027 kB (2,075,965 bytes)

Author(s): Millar, E.

Year: 2019

Citation:

Millar, E. (2019). Strengthening the performance of Kenya’s health information system: Improvements in data quality and use at the county level. Chapel Hill, NC, USA: MEASURE Evaluation, University of North Carolina.

Abstract:

To shed light on how to strengthen HIS to meet the needs of the health sector, particularly by improving data quality and data use available for decision making, we studied the MEASURE Evaluation PIMA (MEval-PIMA) project's efforts to strengthen the organizational, technical, and behavioral components of routine health information systems in Kenya through participatory approaches with the county health management teams (CHMTs). Although the context of this study is specific to Kenya, we aimed to learn from the processes used for HIS strengthening within regional units of the health sector.

In 2014, MEVAL-PIMA undertook an assessment of M&E capacity in CHMTs from 17 counties using the MEVAL-PIMA-developed Monitoring and Evaluation Capacity Assessment Toolkit (MECAT) (https://www.measureevaluation.org/pima/m-e-capacity). The assessment sought to identify the status of behavioral, organizational, and technical capacity in the use of data for programming. Baseline scores were used to identify priorities and inform interventions and to establish a benchmark for measuring progress in project M&E. Shortly after the baseline assessments, changes in funding priorities led MEVAL-PIMA to shift their work to a subset of 10 counties identified as high-priority in the areas of reproductive health, malaria, HIV/AIDS, or a combination of the three.

Because MEVAL-PIMA conducted baseline assessments in 17 counties but then ended up working in only 10 counties, a good opportunity arose to capitalize on these initial investments and study the effect over time in comparison and intervention counties. Thus, this study aimed to assess how MEVAL-PIMA-supported interventions affected changes in data quality and data use compared with the comparison county.

Filed under: HIS , MEASURE Evaluation PIMA , Capacity Assessment , Kenya , HIS strengthening , Learning Agenda , HISS , MECAT , Monitoring, Evaluation

TB DIAH will run until September 2023, PMI Measure Malaria until June 2024, and D4I until September 2023.

MEASURE Evaluation is funded by USAID to strengthen capacity in developing countries to gather, interpret, and use data to improve health. We create tools and approaches for rigorous evaluations, providing evidence to address health challenges. And we strengthen health information systems so countries can make better decisions and sustain good health outcomes over time.

MEASURE Evaluation
Carolina Population Center
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
123 W Franklin St
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516
Email: measure@unc.edu
www.measureevaluation.org

MEASURE Evaluation is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The information provided on this web site is not official U.S. government information and does not necessarily represent the views of USAID, PEPFAR or the U.S. government.

Strengthening the Performance of Kenya’s Health Information System: Improvements in Data Quality and Use at the County Level

Personal tools