Researchers did this study to determine the feasibility of collecting data to calculate six indicators of FP and HIV integration using existing HIS, obtain information to refine indicators, and identify changes needed in existing HIS calculate indicators. Researchers collected data from HIS in a purposive sample of 39 health facilities in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Teams reviewed patient record cards, registers, monthly and quarterly reports for the most recent complete month. Teams recorded all possible sources for each data element, indicated whether data collated monthly and whether disaggregation by age, sex, and originating service were possible.
All countries could report the proportion of service delivery points offering integrated services except Uganda. Ethiopia calculates the indicator for fixed sites but not for home-based care services. Researchers could calculate the balance of HIV clients receiving FP services or referral and FP clients’ ratio receiving an HIV test or referral in most cases. It is feasible to collect data for these indicators under current circumstances in some countries.
The study concluded that several actions are proposed for national health systems, including adopting unique client identifiers. More accurate counts of daily and active client loads are needed to provide program managers with information to inform program monitoring.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/42/1/24
