Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Sep;62(3-04):130-139.
doi: 10.1055/s-0043-1768711. Epub 2023 May 29.

From Paper Files to Web-Based Application for Data-Driven Monitoring of HIV Programs: Nigeria's Journey to a National Data Repository for Decision-Making and Patient Care

Ibrahim Dalhatu  1 , Chinedu Aniekwe  1 , Adebobola Bashorun  2 , Alhassan Abdulkadir  3 , Emilio Dirlikov  4 , Stephen Ohakanu  5 , Oluwasanmi Adedokun  3 , Ademola Oladipo  1 , Ibrahim Jahun  1 , Lisa Murie  4 , Steven Yoon  4 , Mubarak G Abdu-Aguye  3 , Ahmed Sylvanus  3 , Samuel Indyer  3 , Isah Abbas  1 , Mustapha Bello  1 , Nannim Nalda  1 , Matthias Alagi  1 , Solomon Odafe  1 , Sylvia Adebajo  3 , Otse Ogorry  6 , Murphy Akpu  6 , Ifeanyi Okoye  7 , Kunle Kakanfo  8 , Amobi Andrew Onovo  8 , Gregory Ashefor  9 , Charles Nzelu  2 , Akudo Ikpeazu  2 , Gambo Aliyu  9 , Tedd Ellerbrock  4 , Mary Boyd  1 , Kristen A Stafford  5 , Mahesh Swaminathan  1
Affiliations

From Paper Files to Web-Based Application for Data-Driven Monitoring of HIV Programs: Nigeria's Journey to a National Data Repository for Decision-Making and Patient Care

Ibrahim Dalhatu et al. Methods Inf Med. 2023 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Timely and reliable data are crucial for clinical, epidemiologic, and program management decision making. Electronic health information systems provide platforms for managing large longitudinal patient records. Nigeria implemented the National Data Repository (NDR) to create a central data warehouse of all people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) while providing useful functionalities to aid decision making at different levels of program implementation.

Objective: We describe the Nigeria NDR and its development process, including its use for surveillance, research, and national HIV program monitoring toward achieving HIV epidemic control.

Methods: Stakeholder engagement meetings were held in 2013 to gather information on data elements and vocabulary standards for reporting patient-level information, technical infrastructure, human capacity requirements, and information flow. Findings from these meetings guided the development of the NDR. An implementation guide provided common terminologies and data reporting structures for data exchange between the NDR and the electronic medical record (EMR) systems. Data from the EMR were encoded in extensible markup language and sent to the NDR over secure hypertext transfer protocol after going through a series of validation processes.

Results: By June 30, 2021, the NDR had up-to-date records of 1,477,064 (94.4%) patients receiving HIV treatment across 1,985 health facilities, of which 1,266,512 (85.7%) patient records had fingerprint template data to support unique patient identification and record linkage to prevent registration of the same patient under different identities. Data from the NDR was used to support HIV program monitoring, case-based surveillance and production of products like the monthly lists of patients who have treatment interruptions and dashboards for monitoring HIV test and start.

Conclusion: The NDR enabled the availability of reliable and timely data for surveillance, research, and HIV program monitoring to guide program improvements to accelerate progress toward epidemic control.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Architectural framework of the National Data Repository (NDR). API, Application Programming Interface; EMR, electronic medical record; SQL, Structured Query Language.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Schematic description of the National Data Repository's (NDR's) data processing workflow.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Screenshot of the National Data Repository (NDR) analytic dashboard showing the number of clients on treatment disaggregated by age and sex with options on the left to filter by different levels (state, implementing partner, Local Government Area, and health facilities).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Screenshot of the National Data Repository (NDR) analytic dashboard showing its use in monitoring viral suppression.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Screenshot of the National Data Repository (NDR) analytics dashboard showing case-based surveillance and mortality surveillance use cases.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Screenshot of the National Data Repository (NDR) analytics dashboard showing recency surveillance use cases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. UNAIDS Global HIV Statistics 2020. End AIDS epidemicAccessed April 18, 2023 at:https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet
    1. UNAIDS 90–90–90 An ambitious treatment target to help end the AIDS epidemic 2014:40. Accessed April 18, 2023 at:https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/90-90-90_en.pdf
    1. UNAIDS Understanding Fast-Track Targets. Accelerating action to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030UNAIDS; 2015. Accessed April 18, 2023 at:https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/201506_JC2743_Und...
    1. Health FMo Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) 2018: Technical Report; 2019
    1. UNAIDS Country factsheets Nigeria / 2019 HIV and AIDS Estimates Adults and children living with HIVUNAIDS. Updated2019

Publication types