Rapid feedback from household surveys in PHC planning: an example from Kenya

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Household surveys are now widely used in the management of primary health care (PHC) programmes. A problem with their use has been that results and survey reports often are only available long after the survey is completed. This article describes how the results of six district surveys in Kenya on the home management of diarrhoea were fed back to implementors within four weeks of the start of the survey. Results were rapidly computed by continuous monitoring of data quality, daily compilation of results and the use of a simple computer programme for data analysis. A preliminary report was presented to implementors of diarrhoeal diseases control programmes (CDD) in districts and the Ministry of Health four days after completing the survey. Results indicated that 10.8–29.0% of children with diarrhoea in the districts were treated with Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS). However, less than half of caretakers could prepare ORS correctly. Use of home fluids was extensive, and recommendations from the meeting therefore included a reduced emphasis on ORS, in favour of home fluids in programme activities. This paper discusses the use, and potential, of surveys where routine data is lacking or incomplete, and emphasizes the need for rapid feedback of results to capitalize on the interest generated in programme activities by the often intense survey work.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: