Abstract / Summary
Abstract Introduction Despite their critical role in optimizing health service delivery, Health Management Information System (HMIS) data are overlooked due to their poor quality. Low data quality can have an impact on the health of the target populations as program and policy implementers rely on such data to guide future plans and allocate scarce resources. It is crucial to improve the HMIS data collection procedures and devise innovative strategies for utilizing the collected data. In this context, the current study assessed the quality of India’s HMIS data for priority maternal and child health (MCH) indicators for the available years. Methods We used the data from annual performance reports for the sub-districts available on the HMIS portal for the period from 2012 to 13 to 2019-20. Fifteen priority MCH data elements from HMIS were considered. The data were assessed for their availability, completeness, and internal and external consistency using the World Health Organization’s data quality review framework. Estimates from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 were used to assess external consistency. Results Data availability has increased over time. However, completeness has decreased over time (96.2% to 90.7%). Comparatively better completeness levels were observed among high-focus states. The prevalence of outliers was low (below 5%). Consistency over time has improved towards the later years. Consistency between related indicators was low for two of the four of the data pairs we considered. We observed no major differences between states in terms of internal consistency of data. Concordance between the HMIS and survey-based estimates was generally low and varied by indicator and denominator source. Agreement was consistently weaker for the 4 ANC visits indicator and when census-based denominators were used. Overall, the data quality dimensions pertained to internal consistency performed better when compared to external consistency. Conclusion The study's findings point towards the high levels of standardization that India’s national health mission has achieved over time in terms of setting up a health management information system for the management of maternal and child health in the country. However, the data quality assessment also revealed some systemic data quality issues in routine health facility data reporting that have implications for data use and warrant corrective interventions. Clinical trial number Not applicable.