Abstract
Health service delivery indicators are designed to reveal how well health services meet a community's needs. Effective use of the data can enable targeted improvements in health service delivery. We conducted a systematic review to identify the factors that influence the use of health service delivery indicators to improve delivery of primary health care services in low- and middle-income settings. We reviewed empirical studies published in 2005 or later that provided evidence on the use of health service delivery data at the primary care level in low- and middle-income countries. We searched Scopus, Medline, the Cochrane Library, and citations of included studies. We also searched the gray literature, using a separate strategy. We extracted information on study design, setting, study population, study objective, key findings, and any identified lessons learned. Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. This small number of studies suggests there is insufficient evidence to draw reliable conclusions. However, a content analysis identified the following potentially influential factors, which we classified into 3 categories: governance (leadership, participatory monitoring, regular review of data); production of information (presentation of findings, data quality, qualitative data); and health information system resources (electronic health management information systems, organizational structure, training). Contextual factors and performance-based financing were also each found to have a role; however, discussing these as mediating factors may not be practical in terms of promoting data use. Scant evidence exists regarding factors that influence the use of health service delivery indicators to improve delivery of primary health care services in low- and middle-income countries. However, the existing evidence highlights some factors that may have a role in improving data use. Further research may benefit from comparing data use factors across different types of program indicators or using our classification as a framework for field experiments.
Highlights
Health service delivery indicators are designed to reveal how well health services meet a community’s needs
An additional 6 reports meeting the inclusion criteria were identified through the manual gray literature search; because all 6 reports were from the same source
We propose a classification of influential factors identified from our review that may promote the use of health service delivery indicators in our specific setting: governance, production of information, and health information system resources
Summary
Health service delivery indicators are designed to reveal how well health services meet a community’s needs. We conducted a systematic review to identify the factors that influence the use of health service delivery indicators to improve delivery of primary health care services in low- and middle-income settings. Methods: We reviewed empirical studies published in 2005 or later that provided evidence on the use of health service delivery data at the primary care level in low- and middle-income countries. Conclusion: Scant evidence exists regarding factors that influence the use of health service delivery indicators to improve delivery of primary health care services in low- and middle-income countries. Many countries around the world have developed monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems to better understand the health of their populations and the effectiveness of their health programs These systems are intended to capture information about health service delivery to inform how well primary health care services respond to the health needs of a country’s population.[1,2] Typically, this is achieved through a series of health. Numerous organizations and national governments have developed guidance documents to support development and implementation of M&E activities, including those published by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme, and the World Bank.[1,4,5,6] M&E and its component indicators play a role in continuous quality improvement, which is grounded by a “data use culture” that promotes the use of evidence to inform decision making.[7,8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
