Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
BMJ Glob Health. 2024 Jan 30;9(1):e014097. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-014097.
This manuscript describes the process and impact of strengthening the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO)'s COVID-19 vaccination information system. This system plays a critical role in tracking vaccination coverage, guiding resource allocation and supporting vaccination campaign roll-out for countries in the African region. Recognising existing data management issues, including complex reporting prone to human error, compromised data quality and underutilisation of collected data, WHO AFRO introduced significant system improvements during the COVID-19 pandemic. These improvements include shifting from an Excel-based to an online Azure-based data collection system, automating data processing and validation, and expansion of collected data. These changes have led to improvements in data quality and quantity including a decrease in data non-validity, missingness, and record duplication, and expansion of data collection forms to include a greater number of data fields, offering a more comprehensive understanding of vaccination efforts. Finally, the creation of accessible information products-including an interactive public dashboard, a weekly data pack and a public monthly bulletin-has improved data use and reach to relevant partners. These resources provide crucial insights into the region's vaccination progress at national and subnational levels, thereby enabling data-driven decision-making to improve programme performance. Overall, the strengthening of the WHO AFRO COVID-19 vaccination information system can serve as a model for similar efforts in other WHO regions and contexts. The impact of system strengthening on data quality demonstrated here underscores the vital role of robust data collection, capacity building and management systems in achieving high-quality data on vaccine distribution and coverage. Continued investment in information systems is essential for effective and equitable public health efforts.
本文档描述了加强世界卫生组织非洲区域办事处（世卫组织非洲区域办事处）COVID-19 疫苗接种信息系统的过程和影响。该系统在跟踪疫苗接种覆盖率、指导资源分配以及支持非洲区域各国疫苗接种活动的开展方面发挥着关键作用。鉴于现有的数据管理问题，包括容易出现人为错误的复杂报告、数据质量受损以及收集数据未得到充分利用等问题，世卫组织非洲区域办事处在 COVID-19 大流行期间对该系统进行了重大改进。这些改进包括从基于 Excel 的系统转变为基于 Azure 的在线数据收集系统、实现数据处理和验证自动化，以及扩大收集的数据。这些变化提高了数据的质量和数量，包括减少数据无效性、缺失值和记录重复，以及扩大数据收集表，纳入更多的数据字段，从而更全面地了解疫苗接种工作。最后，创建了可访问的信息产品，包括交互式公共仪表板、每周数据包和公共月度公告，提高了数据的使用和传播，以惠及相关合作伙伴。这些资源提供了有关该区域国家和次国家一级疫苗接种进展的关键见解，从而使基于数据的决策能够改进规划的绩效。总的来说，世卫组织非洲区域办事处 COVID-19 疫苗接种信息系统的强化可以作为在其他世卫组织区域和背景下进行类似努力的一个范例。这里展示的系统强化对数据质量的影响突显了强大的数据收集、能力建设和管理系统在获取疫苗分发和覆盖范围高质量数据方面的重要作用。持续投资于信息系统对于有效的和公平的公共卫生工作至关重要。
