Analysing the quality of routine malaria data in Mozambique.

Malar J

Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Av, Salvador Allende, 702, POBOX: 257, Maputo, Mozambique.

Published: March 2004

AI Article Synopsis

  • Malaria is a major health issue in Mozambique, leading to high morbidity and mortality, necessitating better management practices based on reliable data about its incidence.
  • A 2003 analysis in Southern Mozambique showed that the quality of routine malaria data is poor, with issues like data fabrication, reporting delays, and lack of coordination causing inaccuracies and inefficiencies in resource use.
  • To improve malaria reporting, experts recommend a unified system that uses a single form with essential variables to better track cases and create a national database for more accurate malaria mapping and management.

Article Abstract

Background: In Mozambique, malaria is the principal cause of morbidity and mortality. Efforts are being made to increase control activities within communities. These activities require management decisions based on evidence of malaria incidence. Although some data generated are of poor quality, there is little research towards improving the reporting systems.

Methods: An analysis of the quality of routine malaria data was performed in selected districts in Southern Mozambique from August to September 2003. The aim was to assess the quality of the source data in terms of completeness, correctness and consistency across management levels.

Results: Analysis revealed primary data to be of poor quality. The diversity of reporting systems with limited coordination give rise to redundancies and wastage of resources. There was evidence of "invention" of data in health facilities contributing to an incorrect representation of malaria incidence. Large, "non-clinical", time-based variations of malaria cases due to reporting delays were also noted, contributing to false alerts of outbreaks.Furthermore, targets established in the national strategic plan for malaria cannot be calculated through the existing systems; this is the case, for example, for data related to pregnant women and children under-five years.

Discussion And Recommendations: The existing reporting system for malaria is currently not satisfying the information needs of managers. It is suggested that one standardized system, including the creation of one form to include the essential variables required for the calculation of key indicators by age, gender and pregnancy status, and to establish a national database that maps malaria by location.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC395838PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-3-3DOI Listing

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