Evaluation of the quality of data reported by community health workers

Community health workers program is a new health intervention in Rwanda and in most developing countries. The program in Rwanda is operational with procedures and manuals for collecting and reporting of data. The quality of data reported by community health workers should continuously be evaluated for purposes of identifying possible weakness and areas for improvement. This study evaluated the quality of data reported by community health workers using a case of Gahini Hospital catchment area. It was based on examining three quality parameters, namely, completeness,timeliness and reliability of data. The main objective was to evaluate the quality of reported data for key indicators at selected sites within the catchment area of Gahini Hospital. The outcome of the study will help Kayonza district in particular and Ministry of Health in general to establish the status of data reported by community health workers in order to identify possible weakness and propose recommendations for future improvement. The study may also trigger an extensive national data quality audit that is likely to lead to more focus in ensuring data quality for the improvement of health care system.