Assessment of immunization data management practices in Cameroon: unveiling potential barriers to immunization data quality

BMC Health Services Research

Research

Valirie Ndip Agbor¹  Nadege Edwidge Nnang²  Budzi Michael Ngenge²  Clarence Mbanga²  Sangwe Clovis Nchinjoh²  Owens Wiwa²  Yauba Saidu³  Diaby Ousmane⁴  Andreas Ateke Njoh⁵  Amani Adidja⁶  Junie Flegere⁶  Demba Diack⁶  Nkwain Jude Muteh⁷  Jessica Gu⁸  Ralf Clemens⁹  Emmanuele Montomoli^1,10  Sue Ann Costa Clemens^1,11  Vouking Marius Zambou^1,12 

[1] Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU), Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK;Clinton Health Access Initiative Inc, PO Box 2664, Yaounde, Cameroon;Clinton Health Access Initiative Inc, PO Box 2664, Yaounde, Cameroon;Institute for Global Health, University of Siena, 53100, Siena, Italy;Department of Projects, Ministry of Public Health, Yaounde, Cameroon;Expanded Program on Immunization, Ministry of Public Health, PO Box 2084, Yaoundé, Cameroon;School of Global Health and Bioethics, Euclid University, PO Box 157, Bangui, Central African Republic;Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon;Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, Geneva, Switzerland;Global Vaccine Team, Clinton Health Access Initiative Inc, 02127, Boston, MA, USA;Institute for Global Health, University of Siena, 53100, Siena, Italy;Institute for Global Health, University of Siena, 53100, Siena, Italy;Department Molecular Medicine, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 3, 53100, Siena, Italy;VisMederi srl, Via Ferrini 53, 53035, Siena, Italy;Institute for Global Health, University of Siena, 53100, Siena, Italy;Department of Pediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK;UNICEF, Yaoundé, Cameroun;

关键词: Data management;    Practices;    Data quality;    Expanded program of immunization;    Vaccination staff;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-023-09965-9

 received in 2023-06-17, accepted in 2023-08-25,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundOne crucial obstacle to attaining universal immunization coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa is the paucity of timely and high-quality data. This challenge, in part, stems from the fact that many frontline immunization staff in this part of the world are commonly overburdened with multiple data-related responsibilities that often compete with their clinical tasks, which in turn could affect their data collection practices. This study assessed the data management practices of immunization staff and unveiled potential barriers impacting immunization data quality in Cameroon.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, involving health districts and health facilities in all 10 regions in Cameroon selected by a multi-stage sampling scheme. Structured questionnaires and observation checklists were used to collect data from Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) staff, and data were analyzed using STATA VERSION 13.0 (StataCorp LP. 2015. College Station, TX).ResultsA total of 265 facilities in 68 health districts were assessed. There was limited availability of some data recording tools like vaccination cards (43%), maintenance registers (8%), and stock cards (57%) in most health facilities. Core data collection tools were incompletely filled in a significant proportion of facilities (37% for registers and 81% for tally sheets). Almost every health facility (89%) did not adhere to the recommendation of filling tally sheets during vaccination; the filling was instead done either before (51% of facilities) or after (25% of facilities) vaccinating several children. Moreso, about 8% of facilities did not collect data on vaccine administration. About a third of facilities did not collect data on stock levels (35%), vaccine storage temperatures (21%), and vaccine wastage (39%).ConclusionOur findings unveil important gaps in data collection practices at the facility level that could adversely affect Cameroon’s immunization data quality. It highlights the urgent need for systematic capacity building of frontline immunization staff on data management capacity, standardizing data management processes, and building systems that ensure constant availability of data recording tools at the facility level.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023