Author(s)

Chrisogone C. German¹, Erick S. Kinyenje^1*, Talhiya A. Yahya², Joseph C. Hokororo¹, Saumu Nungu³, Mohamed A. Mohamed^4,5, Mbwana M. Degeh¹, Omary A. Nassoro¹, Syabo M. Mwaisengela⁶, Radenta P. Bahegwa¹, Yohanes S. Msigwa¹, Ruth R. Ngowi¹, Laura E. Marandu¹, Michael Habtu⁷, Eliudi S. Eliakimu¹

¹Health Quality Assurance Unit, Ministry of Health, Dodoma, United Republic of Tanzania.
²Management Sciences for Health (MSH), Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.
³Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit, Ministry of Health, Dodoma, United Republic of Tanzania.
⁴Tanzania Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (TFELTP), Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.
⁵East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC), Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania.
⁶Division of Policy and Planning, Ministry of Health, Dodoma, United Republic of Tanzania.
⁷World Health Organization, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.

Background: The use of data for planning and improving healthcare delivery is sub-optimal among developing countries. In 2015, Tanzania started to implement the Star Rating Assessment (SRA) process for Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities to improve various dimensions of quality of services, including the use of data. We aimed at assessing the extent and predictors of data use in Tanzanian PHC facilities. Methods: We used the most current national SRA data available in DHIS2 that was collected in 2017/2018 from all 7289 PHC facilities. A facility was considered using data if gained 80% of the allocated scores. Other dependent variables were the three components that together contribute to the use of data (If PHC facility has Health Management Information Systems (HMISs) functional, disseminates information, and has proper medical records). We determined the association between data use and facility ownership status (public or private), location of the facility (rural or urban), gender of the facility in charge, and facility service level (dispensary, health centre, or hospital). Results are presented as proportions of facilities that qualified for data use and the three components. The associations are reported in Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Results: A total of 6663 (91.4%) PHC facilities met our inclusion criteria for analysis. Among the facilities: 1198 (18.0%) had used data for planning and services improvement, 3792 (56.9%) had functional HMIS, 1752 (26.3%) had disseminated data, and 631 (9.5%) had proper medical records. Facilities that are publicly owned (AOR 1.23; 95% CI: 1.02 - 1.47) and those in-charges were females (AOR 1.19; 95% CI: 1.04 - 1.36) were likely to use data. Data use was likely to increase as the level of facility increases. Conclusions: The use of facility data for planning and services improvement in Tanzanian PHC facilities is low, and much effort needs to be targeted at privately-owned and low-level PHC facilities.

Data Use, Health Management Information Systems, Medical Records, Tanzania, Primary Health Care

German, C. , Kinyenje, E. , Yahya, T. , Hokororo, J. , Nungu, S. , Mohamed, M. , Degeh, M. , Nassoro, O. , Mwaisengela, S. , Bahegwa, R. , Msigwa, Y. , Ngowi, R. , Marandu, L. , Habtu, M. and Eliakimu, E. (2023) The Use of Data for Planning and Services Improvement in Tanzanian Primary Healthcare Facilities: Experience from Star Rating Assessment. Journal of Service Science and Management, 16, 144-160. doi: 10.4236/jssm.2023.162010.