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Home » What We Do » Food And Nutrition » Improving data collection and management for health surveys in developing countries using new information and communication

Improving data collection and management for health surveys in developing countries using new information and communication technologies

Introduction

HealthBridge staff are currently located in Canada, Bangladesh, Vietnam and India, and additionally support projects and conduct research in Latin America and Africa. Managing data collected in different locations presents a particular challenge and the organization has decided to experiment with new information and communication technologies to streamline and standardize its data management systems. These technologies will improve data management from the point of data entry thus increasing the efficiency and accuracy of data analysis and reporting.

Hand-held computers, also called personal digital assistants (PDAs), can be used to collect data in field surveys (e.g. health, demographic, agricultural) and thereby have the data entered into a database at the same time it is collected. The data can be wirelessly transmitted to a central location for archiving and analysis. PDAs can greatly increase the size, efficiency, and accuracy of field surveys, which are often limited by the burden of data collection and entry with paper and pen.

By linking PDAs with global positioning system (GPS) receivers the field-collected data can be geo-referenced, and maps can be produced of the survey households and other features of interest (e.g. health care centres, water bodies, roads). High quality maps of the study area are often lacking in developing country settings since studies are often conducted in areas where existing maps are inaccurate, insufficiently detailed, or outdated. Geo-referencing of data further allows analysis of spatial relationships using geographic information systems (GIS).

Objectives

To develop the expertise and tools needed so that HealthBridge can use a personal digital assistant (PDA) based data management system for its own field surveys and for providing technical assistance and training to other researchers.

Results and Impact

• We have successfully pilot tested PDA-based nutrition surveys in Ecuador and Bolivia. The surveys were successful, and the data were cleaned and available for analysis almost immediately after survey completion.
• In parallel projects with the Canadian Red Cross, we have led national surveys of Bednet usage in Mali and Madagascar.
• We have provided two training workshops in Ottawa, teaching PDA programming and use to 10 individuals from partner organizations, and we provided training to surveyors/enumerators in Mali. Madagascar, Ecuador and Bolivia, building the number of partners able to prepare for and execute PDA base surveys.
• We have drafted a User's Manual for PDA-based surveys.

In completing all these activities we have succeeded in our primary objective: to build our own capacity in the use of IT in research and monitoring and evaluation.

Project profile

Location: Ottawa, Canada

Donor: IDRC

Duration: August 2007 - November 2008

Contact person:

Peter R. Berti, PhD

Nutrition Advisor / Deputy Director

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