Introduction
Data and information are vital to the healthcare delivery system and to the decision-making process surrounding health sector reform. Healthcare functions revolve around collecting, analysing, making decisions and using data and information.1
Managing health data is all about managing health information. Using the sequence of data collection, processing, reporting and utilisation of the information, those are necessary for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare services.2 Good data management practice is a prerequisite for quality data for decision-making that allows decision-makers, managers and service providers to make evidence-based decisions.3 4
Poor health data management practices (HDMP) have a great influence on the progress of the health system, the population’s health as well as the information revolution, which is one of the building blocks of the health system.5
Worldwide, there is increasing interest in the measurement of data quality and information use to capture key information about the challenges and limitations of health service provisions and programme implementation. This reliance on data quality and information usage requires quality assurance mechanisms that promote reliable data collection, storage and management.6
Despite the vast amounts of resources invested to improve HDMP globally, health professionals continue to struggle with a lack of basic data management skills.7 Studies showed that good practice of health data management (HDM) in three nations (the United Kingdom, Germany and Jamaica) was 33.3%, 39% and 48%, respectively.4 8 9 Over the years, HDM systems have experienced many problems, which were generally based on paper and manual recording processes, leading to poor HDM practice.10–12 HDM practice in developing countries does not provide the necessary information, which supports decision-making. Some of the reasons are poor quality of data, weak data analysis, lack of information culture, lack of trained personnel and health information system (HIS) activities seen as a burden due to high workloads especially at the health facility level.13
The utilisation of information for evidence-based decision-making is also still very weak in most low and middle-income countries.14 Most health workers in developing countries become one of the obstacles to effective and efficient management in the delivery of healthcare services. At the primary level, where service delivery is the main task, there are problems with data management tasks such as capture, processing, analysis, storage, reporting and utilisation, which have primary responsibility for operational activities.15 16
All functions of the health system and public health policy are seriously reliant on the presence and use of quality HIS data.14 17 However, lack of quality data and poor HDMP are affecting the health system’s performance and the health of society. This is evident by frequent overstocks and understocks of supplies, poor detection and management of outbreaks and scarcity of human resources at different times.18 Findings from different African countries indicated that the practice of data management among health professionals remains low (Nigeria, Zanzibar and Kenya) showed 9.7%, 27% and 21.6%, respectively.19–21 Studies in Kenya have shown that health workers usually spend 40% or more of their time filling out HMIS forms but make little use of the information for decision-making.22
In Ethiopia, different efforts have been made to assess and improve the strengths and weaknesses of routine health information systems.23 As a result, the Ministry of Health Ethiopia has designed various initiatives and implemented a digital system for managing and utilising health data, including the District HIS to manage the national reporting system and the electronic Community HIS to manage standardising and simplifying data collection and reporting formats, disseminating guidelines and developing health information management capacity. However, the 2019 annual health sector performance report indicates that, in Ethiopia, among the six major components of HIS resources, data management was not showing progress and became a major problem in the health sector.24
Studies conducted at the data management practice level in the health sectors were not uniform throughout the country’s health facilities and showed a range of 13%–74.3%.25–29 Owing to the observed gap in the health sector in Ethiopia, information use has been given substantial prominence in the Health Sector Transformation Plan as part of the information revolution, which is one of the four transformation agendas. The information revolution is not only about changing the techniques of data and information management; it is also about bringing about fundamental cultural and attitudinal change regarding the perceived value and practical use of information.23 Therefore, this study pursued to assess HDM practices and associated factors among health professionals at public health facilities.