Dataset Information

Using electronic tablets for data collection for healthcare service and maternal health assessments in low resource settings: lessons learnt.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Health service and health outcome data collection across many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is, to date largely paper-based. With the development and increased availability of reliable technology, electronic tablets could be used for electronic data collection in such settings. This paper describes our experiences with implementing electronic data collection methods, using electronic tablets, across different settings in four LMICs.

Methods

Within our research centre, the use of electronic data collection using electronic tablets was piloted during a healthcare facility assessment study in Ghana. After further development, we then used electronic data collection in a multi-country, cross-sectional study to measure ill-health in women during and after pregnancy, in India, Kenya and Pakistan. All data was transferred electronically to a central research team in the UK where it was processed, cleaned, analysed and stored.

Results

The healthcare facility assessment study in Ghana demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability to healthcare providers of using electronic tablets to collect data from seven healthcare facilities. In the maternal morbidity study, electronic data collection proved to be an effective way for healthcare providers to document over 400 maternal health variables, in 8530 women during and after pregnancy in India, Kenya and Pakistan.

Conclusions

Electronic data collection provides an effective platform which can be used successfully to collect data from healthcare facility registers and from patients during health consultations; and to transfer large quantities of data. To ensure successful electronic data collection and transfer between settings, we recommend that close attention is paid to study design, data collection, tool design, local internet access and device security.

SUBMITTER: Dickinson FM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6537391 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Using electronic tablets for data collection for healthcare service and maternal health assessments in low resource settings: lessons learnt.

Dickinson Fiona M FM McCauley Mary M Madaj Barbara B van den Broek Nynke N

BMC health services research 20190527 1

<h4>Background</h4>Health service and health outcome data collection across many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is, to date largely paper-based. With the development and increased availability of reliable technology, electronic tablets could be used for electronic data collection in such settings. This paper describes our experiences with implementing electronic data collection methods, using electronic tablets, across different settings in four LMICs.<h4>Methods</h4>Within our researc ...[more]

PMID: 31133032

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Project description:BackgroundAgeing into adulthood is challenging at baseline, and doing so with a chronic disease can add increased stress and vulnerability. Worldwide, a substantial care gap exists as children transition from care in a paediatric to adult setting. There is no current consensus on safe and equitable healthcare transition (HCT) for patients with chronic disease in resource-denied settings. Much of the existing literature is specific to HIV care. The objective of this narrative review was to summarise current literature related to adolescent HCT not associated with HIV, in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) and other resource-denied settings, in order to inform equitable health policy strategies.MethodsA literature search was performed using defined search terms in PubMed and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases to identify all peer-reviewed studies published until January 2020, pertaining to paediatric to adult HCT for adolescents and young adults with chronic disease in resource-denied settings. Following deduplication, 1111 studies were screened and reviewed by two independent reviewers, of which 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. Resulting studies were included in thematic analysis and narrative synthesis.ResultsTwelve subthemes emerged, leading to recommendations which support equitable and age-appropriate adolescent care. Recommendations include (1) improvement of community health education and resilience tools for puberty, reproductive health and mental health comorbidities; (2) strengthening of health systems to create individualised adolescent-responsive policy; (3) incorporation of social and financial resources in the healthcare setting; and (4) formalisation of institution-wide procedures to address community-identified barriers to successful transition.ConclusionLimitations of existing evidence relate to the paucity of formal policy for paediatric to adult transition in LMICs for patients with childhood-onset conditions, in the absence of a diagnosis of HIV. With a rise in successful treatments for paediatric-onset chronic disease, adolescent health and transition programmes are needed to guide effective health policy and risk reduction for adolescents in resource-denied settings.

Dataset Information

Using electronic tablets for data collection for healthcare service and maternal health assessments in low resource settings: lessons learnt.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Using electronic tablets for data collection for healthcare service and maternal health assessments in low resource settings: lessons learnt.

Similar Datasets

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