Knowledge, attitudes and associated factors to use district health information system among healthcare providers in Illu Aba Bora zone, South West of Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Sound and reliable health information is needed to promote culture of evidence based decision making. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge and attitudes of healthcare providers to use District health information system among public health facilities in South-West Ethiopia. METHOD: Cross sectional quantitative study was conducted. A total of 264 participants were approached. Descriptive and analytical statistics was done. RESULT: Overall 130 (49.2%) of respondents had good knowledge to use DHIS (95% CI: [43, 55.3]). 149 (56.4%) of respondents had favourable attitudes (95% CI: [53.2, 59.8]). Sufficient skills [AOR = 2.20, 95% CI: (1.16, 4.19)], older age [AOR = 1.92, 95% CI: (1.03, 3.59)] , resources [AOR = 2.56, 95% CI: (1.35, 4.86)], staffing [AOR = 2.85, 95% CI: (1.49, 5.48)] and high experiences [AOR = 4.66, 95% CI: (1.94, 5.78)] were variables associated with knowledge. Being trained [AOR = 3.59, 95% CI: (2.48, 5.42)], provision of feedback [AOR = 4.08, 95% CI: (1.87, 8.91)], motivation [AOR = 2.87, 95% CI: (1.36, 6.06)] and health need [AOR = 2.32, 95% CI: (1.10, 4.92)] were variables associated with attitudes. CONCLUSION: Thus, Knowledge and attitudes of healthcare providers to use DHIS working in public health facilities in this setting is relatively low. The results highlight the need to improve knowledge and attitudes to use DHIS among healthcare providers focusing on the identified gaps.

Commitment Levels of Health Care Providers in Using the District Health Information System and the Associated Factors for Decision Making in Resource-Limited Settings: Cross-sectional Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: Changing the culture of information use, which is one of the transformation agendas of the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia, cannot become real unless health care providers are committed to using locally collected data for evidence-based decision making. The commitment of health care providers has paramount influence on district health information system 2 (DHIS2) data utilization for decision making. Evidence is limited on health care providers' level of commitment to using DHIS2 data in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aims to fill this evidence gap. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the levels of commitment of health care providers and the factors influencing their commitment levels in using DHIS2 data for decision making at public health care facilities in the Ilu Aba Bora zone of the Oromia national regional state, Ethiopia in 2020. METHODS: The cross-sectional quantitative study supplemented by qualitative methods was conducted from February 26, 2020 to April 17, 2020. A total of 264 participants were approached. SPSS version 20 software was used for data entry and analysis. Descriptive and analytical statistics, including bivariable and multivariable analyses, were performed. Thematic analysis was conducted for the qualitative data. RESULTS: Of the 264 respondents, 121 (45.8%, 95% CI 40.0%-52.8%) respondents showed high commitment levels to use DHIS2 data. The variables associated with the level of commitment to use DHIS2 data were found to be provision of feedback for DHIS2 data use (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.85, 95% CI 1.02-3.33), regular supervision and managerial support (AOR 2.84, 95% CI 1.50-5.37), information use culture (AOR 1.92, 95% CI 1.03-3.59), motivation to use DHIS2 data (AOR 1.80, 95% CI 1.00-3.25), health needs (AOR 3.96, 95% CI 2.11-7.41), and competency in DHIS2 tasks (AOR 2.41, 95% CI 1.27-4.55). CONCLUSIONS: In general, less than half of the study participants showed high commitment levels to use DHIS2 data for decision making in health care. Providing regular supportive supervision and feedback and increasing the motivation and competency of the health care providers in performing DHIS2 data tasks will help in promoting their levels of commitment that can result in the cultural transformation of data use for evidence-based decision making in health care.