Factors Influencing Utilization of Routine Health Information For
Decision Making Among Health Workers: A Case Study of Health Facilities
in Moyo District, Uganda
Abstract
Health information is a powerful vehicle for enhancing community health
and it highlights both the problems and opportunities that exist for
development. In Uganda, there are cases where decisions have been made
without using health information in primary health care units. The
existing capacity inadequacy to efficiently utilize information to track
service use patterns over time to determine the impacts of policy and
service delivery improvements in Uganda is one of the key weaknesses.
With the support of the Ministry of Health, the government of Uganda is
implementing projects to build and enhance the nation’s web-based
national health information system (DHIS2), which collects data from all
health systems and allows for making decisions based on evidence on the
delivery of health services. The broad study objective was to establish
the factors influencing the utilization of routine health information
for decisions making among the health workers. The research design was
based on an analytical cross-sectional design. The target population for
this study was 260 health workers specifically targeting those involved
in the use of routine utilization of health information. Purposive
sampling was used to select the key informants and other respondents
were selected using simple and stratified random sampling. The
self-administered structured questionnaire and key informants’
interviews were used to collect data from respondents. The analysis of
the quantitative data was done using descriptive statistics consisting
of tables, bar graphs, pie charts, frequency, percentages, mean and
standard deviations. Logistic regression analysis was conducted for
establishing the association amongst the variables. The study
established that technical factors (χ2=801.069; p=0.001), organizational
factors (χ2=895.224; p=0.000), and behavioural factors (χ2=994.559;
p=0.000) had a significant influence on utilization of routine health
information for decision making. Talk of significant predictors of
utilization of routine health information for decision making, technical
factors (p = 0.013) had the greatest influence on utilization of routine
health information for decision making among health workers at health
facilities followed by organizational factors (p = 0.049). The study
recommends that management of health facilities in Moyo district to
create organizational culture through increased demand for and use of
routine health information for evidence-based decision making in all
aspects. The study further established areas of the routine health
information system that requires to be reinforced and backed up to
ensure the use of routine data in health facility to make decisions.