EVALUATION OF A MATERNAL AND CHILD ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: Preliminary Results from a Field Pilot

摘要

Introduction: The poor quality of health indicators data such as maternal and perinatal mortality prevents an adequate planning and evaluation of public health interventions. Objective: To evaluate the viability and usability of a prototype of a maternal and child electronic health record, in Northern Mozambique. Methods: The prototype was based on existing paper forms and the system was assessed at a maternity ard in a healthcare center of Nampula. The usability was evaluated using in loco observations, interviews and self-administered questionnaires to health professionals, after a 6 hours training period. Results: During the evaluation period, 205 clinical forms were registered, corresponding to 58% of all childbirths. From a total of 19 health professionals, 9 nurses answered the questionnaire. The prototype was well accepted among these respondents but the recording time was higher than in its paper version (12 vs. 5 minutes per record). Data quality problems were identified. The absence of a unique citizen identifier was a major obstacle regarding the mother-child data linkage. Conclusion: Although this system may contribute to the improvement of the quality of the healthcare provided to women and children in Mozambique, there are still many technical and organizational challenges to be overcome.