World Journal of Engineering Research and Technology

Mr. Valentin KIZIHIRA RWABUKUMBA*, Mr. Ngilimana Gad and Prof. Wafula Ongus Raymond (Phd).

ABSTRACT

The usage of Health Information Systems (HIS) helps in disease surveillance program as it enables collecting data from multiples sources in real time and indicates the potential of disease outbreak in certain location. The purpose of the study was inspired by the arising issues of Health Information Systems icons were inactive and it is also not known whether the hospital staff is comfortable in using the health information system to perform their duties or whether there are various challenges experienced in the process of using the HIS in disease surveillance. The study aimed at examining effect of Health Information Systems usage on surveillance of diseases in Muhima District Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda. Specific objectives of this study are respectively: To assess health information systems usage at Muhima District Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda, to examine how disease surveillance is carried out using health information systems at Muhima District Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda and to determine the relationship between the usage of health information systems and disease surveillance in Muhima District Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda. The study would be a knowledge reference for further study, to improve on Health information systems and design more strategies for better planning. The research design is a case study. The target population is 232 healthcare staff of Muhima District Hospital. Using stratified and purposive sampling techniques, a sample size of 148 respondents was made. The pilot study was carried out at Kibagabaga District Hospital which had similar health information systems usage for testing the reliability of the questionnaire. Data were collected by means of questionnaires and interviews. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) vesrsion 20.0 was used as the data analysis tool. Findings revealed that GIS usage was agreed on by healthcare staff with the weighted means of 3.720 and the standard deviation of 0.499. Respondents’ opinions were agreeing on use of analytic tools, medical data entry application and reporting tools at Muhima District Hospital with the weighted means of 3.993, 4.058 and 3.919 respectively and with 0.257, 0.398, and 0.470 their respective standard deviations showed that respondents agreed on the respective issues concerned. ICT Officer and Director General confirmed the results through interviews. There is a usage of manual systems in collecting data, few number of computers equipped with health information systems software and lack of training of new programs in ICT. Additionally, findings revealed r=0.797 multiple correlation coefficient which shows that there was a fair positive correlation between Health information systems usage and disease surveillance. The study also found that coefficient of determination r2=0.6352, meaning that 63.52% of total variation in disease surveillance could be explained by stochastic multiple regression equation model developed, whereas the remaining total variation of 36.48% was attributed to factors beyond the control of the study. Recommendations of the study are to recruit staff with computer skills as an added advantage, strengthening user awareness on Health Information Systems usage policy, decrease manual systems usage by improving Health Information Systems usage, and conducting studies before implementation of information Systems project.

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