Data Validation with DHIS Software By Zufan Abera

Outline • Objectives • Rationale • Validation • Data Validation • Validation operators • Flow chart • Summary

Objective of the session • To Enable Health Managers to Validate their data using DHIS software

Rationale • Data quality is very important for building effective HIS • Data quality is a problem in the health care settings – There is a need to improve data Quality

Validation • The process of checking if something satisfies a certain criterion • Check if solution or process is correct – Suited for its intended use. • Validation can be used in different fields.

Validation cont. • Examples – Declare or make legally valid of documents – Effectiveness and Reproducibility of the process to produce a medical product – Total OPD attendants should > Malaria cases

Data Validation • Checking that data inserted into an application satisfies pre-determined formats • One way of picking up errors of data • Verify correct data can be entered into a database. • Check routines or data for – meaningfulness – Usefulness • Can be done in application software, such as DHIS

Data Validation cont. • District Health Information Software (DHIS) has a functionality for checking data validity • Before you do validation – Validation rule must be already defined • The validation rules are set based on comparison of two or more data elements • We use the following operators

Validation operators • Operators are functions in mathematics that use for comparison • Types of validation operators include – Equal to = – Less than < – Greater than >

Validation operators cont. o. There must be at least two data elements or values to make comparison • One on the right side and one on the left side o. Example

Out come of validation • Validation passed successfully • Validation violation

Starting point for data validation

Steps to follow

Exercise • Validate the Immunization data of l. P Diana clinic for January 2009 – Use the guideline and examples provided

• Any Question

Summary • Validation is one way of checking the data Quality • It can be done using different application software, eg. DHIS • You are expected to take action based on the validation out come

Summary cont.

Summary cont. • What actions can be taken when the you get – Violation of validation – Validation pass successfully