Abstract
BackgroundRoutine health information systems (RHISs) support resource allocation and management decisions at all levels of the health system, as well as strategy development and policy-making in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although RHIS data represent a rich source of information, such data are currently underused for research purposes, largely due to concerns over data quality. Given that substantial investments have been made in strengthening RHISs in LMICs in recent years, and that there is a growing demand for more real-time data from researchers, this systematic review builds upon the existing literature to summarize the extent to which RHIS data have been used in peer-reviewed research publications.MethodsUsing terms ‘routine health information system’, ‘health information system’, or ‘health management information system’ and a list of LMICs, four electronic peer-review literature databases were searched from inception to February 202,019: PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and EconLit. Articles were assessed for inclusion based on pre-determined eligibility criteria and study characteristics were extracted from included articles using a piloted data extraction form.ResultsWe identified 132 studies that met our inclusion criteria, originating in 37 different countries. Overall, the majority of the studies identified were from Sub-Saharan Africa and were published within the last 5 years. Malaria and maternal health were the most commonly studied health conditions, although a number of other health conditions and health services were also explored.ConclusionsOur study identified an increasing use of RHIS data for research purposes, with many studies applying rigorous study designs and analytic methods to advance program evaluation, monitoring and assessing services, and epidemiological studies in LMICs. RHIS data represent an underused source of data and should be made more available and further embraced by the research community in LMIC health systems.
Highlights
Routine health information systems (RHISs) support resource allocation and management decisions at all levels of the health system, as well as strategy development and policy-making in many low- and middleincome countries (LMICs)
In this systematic review we summarized the use of data collected from RHISs in LMICs
We found that researchers are increasingly using data sourced from RHISs to conduct health system planning and evaluation studies in LMIC health systems, these data likely remain underutilized by the broader research community
Summary
Routine health information systems (RHISs) support resource allocation and management decisions at all levels of the health system, as well as strategy development and policy-making in many low- and middleincome countries (LMICs). Routine health information systems (RHISs) collect and provide information at regular intervals on services and activities delivered in health facilities [1]. Studies have shown that the implementation of newer information and communication technology systems, along with supportive feedback mechanisms to encourage their use in routine practice, can lead to substantial improvements in RHIS reporting and data quality [5, 13, 16, 17]
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