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. 2017 Jan 27;7(1):e013562.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013562.

Challenges in data quality: the influence of data quality assessments on data availability and completeness in a voluntary medical male circumcision programme in Zimbabwe

Y Xiao  1   2 , A F Bochner  2 , B Makunike  3 , M Holec  2 , S Xaba  4 , M Tshimanga  5 , V Chitimbire  6 , S Barnhart  2   7   8 , C Feldacker  2   8
Affiliations

Challenges in data quality: the influence of data quality assessments on data availability and completeness in a voluntary medical male circumcision programme in Zimbabwe

Y Xiao et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: To assess availability and completeness of data collected before and after a data quality audit (DQA) in voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) sites in Zimbabwe to determine the effect of this process on data quality.

Setting: 4 of 10 VMMC sites in Zimbabwe that received a DQA in February, 2015 selected by convenience sampling.

Participants: Retrospective reviews of all client intake forms (CIFs) from November, 2014 and May, 2015. A total of 1400 CIFs were included from those 2 months across four sites.

Primary and secondary outcomes: Data availability was measured as the percentage of VMMC clients whose CIF was on file at each site. A data evaluation tool measured the completeness of 34 key CIF variables. A comparison of pre-DQA and post-DQA results was conducted using χ2 and t-tests.

Results: After the DQA, high record availability of over 98% was maintained by sites 3 and 4. For sites 1 and 2, record availability increased by 8.0% (p=0.001) and 9.7% (p=0.02), respectively. After the DQA, sites 1, 2 and 3 improved significantly in data completeness across 34 key indicators, increasing by 8.6% (p<0.001), 2.7% (p=0.003) and 3.8% (p<0.001), respectively. For site 4, CIF data completeness decreased by 1.7% (p<0.01) after the DQA.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that CIF data availability and completeness generally improved after the DQA. However, gaps in documentation of vital signs and adverse events signal areas for improvement. Additional emphasis on data completeness would help support high-quality programme implementation and availability of reliable data for decision-making.

Keywords: Data quality; Monitoring and Evaluation; Zimbabwe; operations research; voluntary medical male circumcision.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flow chart. CIFs, client intake forms; DQA, data quality audit; VMMC, voluntary medical male circumcision.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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