Abstract
Objective
Guatemala’s efforts to fight sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS are compromised by the lack of timely and accurate data. The strengthening of the national Monitoring and Evaluation system is key for a better understanding of the epidemics and the formulation of effective public health responses. This study assessed how health service providers in resource-poor countries can contribute indicators to national health authorities.
Methods
Review of data sources produced by projects of a NGO harmonizing the identified indicators with national and international standards. During a field visit, they were validated with key stakeholders.
Results
Study results are 19 original and 13 harmonized indicators.
Conclusions
Findings suggest that small-scale projects can contribute to the strengthening of national health information systems.
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References
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the National AIDS Program, the National Centre of Epidemiology, the National M&E committee (on HIV/AIDS and STI), UNAIDS, and PAHO who have given us valuable input into our indicator list; the Agència Catalana de Cooperació al desenvolupament (ACCD) (Generalitat de Catalunya), the Agencia Española de Cooperación al Desarrollo (AECID) (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación de España), and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for their financial support. Our thanks also go to the Fundació and CEEISCAT (ICO/Departament de Salut. Generalitat de Catalunya) staff in Barcelona and Guatemala, who explained to us the projects’ activities, corresponding data collection efforts, challenges faced and provided important feedback on this study. Specifically, we would like to acknowledge the contribution of the following people: Meritxell Sabidó, Jaume Font, Virginia Isern Fernandez, Federica Giardina, Victor Hugo Fernández, Perla Silvana Urzua, Fernando Cano, Blanca Samayoa, Patricia Rivera, Fernando J. Amado, and William Miller. Finally, we thank Daniel Oesch for his valuable input into the various drafts of this text as well as Joshua Metcalf-Wallach for editing.
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At the time of this study Joanna Barczyk was with the Fundació Sida i Societat. Otherwise she works as an M&E Officer at the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The content in this article does not necessarily reflect the official views of the latter.
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Barczyk, J., García, J. & Casabona, J. The potential contribution of small-scale intervention projects in the field to the national health information system for HIV and sexually transmitted infections: a case study of a multilevel intervention in Guatemala. Int J Public Health 55, 693–699 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0179-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0179-7