Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2012 2013 2014 2015

Details for Mechanism ID: 13805
Country/Region: Kenya
Year: 2012
Main Partner: University of Washington
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: University
Funding Agency: HHS/HRSA
Total Funding: $3,821,600

Goals/objectives:Strengthen HIS & data use in health service delivery.Deploying an upgraded EMR at 25% of health facilities offering HIV treatment. Futures Group (FG) will work with implementers of OpenMRS & 1 other nationally recognized EMR to install the applications at 300 ART sites. FG will migrate data from the existing systems to the supported EMRs or install upgrades where previously non-interoperable versions existed. The upgraded EMRs will implement SDMX standards to enable data exchange with the DHIS. ITECH will work with the MOH to establish a training program for 600 HWs (doctors & nurses) to enter data into the system, use its decision support function for patient management and generate routine M&E reports. Extend guidelines and standards for EMRs to cover PHC.Complete documentation of interoperability protocols, based on lessons from the pilot in Nyanza province & prepare a blueprint for national scale-up in collaboration with the eHealth team that is currently working on the national health enterprise architecture (EA). ITECH will support selected eHealth activities contributing to the development of the EA.Revise training curriculum for HIS for different cadres of HWs & deploy it with the national rollout of EMRs to ensure HWs, managers & policy makers have sufficient capacity for routine reporting, M&E, surveillance & OR.Cost-efficiency:ITECH is working with partners including FG & USAID funded AfyaInfo to implement standards-based EMRs to eliminate duplication through interoperable systems.Transition:ITECH will work with local developers of OpenMRS (an EMR system that complies with international standards) to upgrade and extend the system. Most developers work for Kenyan universities & HC providers. This activity support GHI/LLC.

Funding for Strategic Information (HVSI): $3,621,600

ITECH has worked with the Division of HIS and the National AIDS and STI Control Program (NASCOP) to develop the national standards and guidelines for Electronic Medical Records (EMR). The partner is currently working with the National Public Health Laboratory Services (NPHLS) to expand the standards document to include Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS). In addition, ITECH is finalizing the piloting of EMR interoperability with the Health Demographic Surveillance Systems, before demonstrating EMR/LIMS data exchange based on standard protocols. Lessons learnt from this pilot will inform the national rollout of the interoperable systems.

The following are the specific activities that ITECH will support over a two-year period (2012-2014):

Deploying an upgraded EMR at 25% of health facilities offering HIV treatment. Under this activity, ITECH will work with implementers of OpenMRS and one other nationally recognized EMR to install the applications at approximately 300 ART sites. They will migrate data from the existing systems to the supported EMRs or install upgrades versions where previously non-interoperable versions existed. The upgraded EMRs will implement SDMX standards to enable data exchange with the District Health Information System (DHIS). ITECH will work with the MOH to establish a continuing training program for the 600 health workers, including doctors and nurses, to enter data into the system, use its decision support function for patient management and generate routine M&E reports. The partner will also work the MOH to establish regional or county based support mechanism for maintaining installed systems. Such support will include hardware, software and Internet connectivity.

Extend the guidelines and standards for EMRs to cover primary health care. This will include sub-systems that interact with EMRs, such as LIMS, Pharmacy Information Systems (PIS), DHIS.

Complete the documentation of the interoperability protocols, based on lessons learnt from the pilot in Nyanza province and prepare a blueprint for national scale-up. This will be done in collaboration with the eHealth team that is currently working on the national health enterprise architecture (EA). ITECH will also support selected eHealth activities contributing to the development of the EA.

Revise the training curriculum for HIS for different cadres of health workers. Deploy it alongside the national rollout of EMRs to ensure health workers, managers and policy makers have sufficient capacity to make the best use of the installed systems to support routine reporting, M&E, surveillance and operational research.

The EMRs, although originally intended to collect data for HIV, can be used for any chronic or acute illness and will help collect data for the US ambassadors Health Task Force (HTF). The EMRs, DHIS and national data warehouse will greatly strengthen the countrys capacity to perform disease surveillance, reporting, M&E and operational research.

Funding for Sexual Prevention: Other Sexual Prevention (HVOP): $200,000

The Kenya Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development (MOGCSD) is currently working with other stakeholders to plan a national response that will address gender-based violence (GBV) following completion of the first Violence against Children Survey in 2010. The current system of tracking GBV and services for victims which relies on reporting by 3-4 sentinel sites (provincial hospitals) is inadequate to inform planning and scale up of GBV prevention and services across the country. Through PEPFAR support, the MOGCSD with the support of Liverpool VCT (LVCT)-Ungana will work with other stakeholders to harmonize GBV reporting. The University of Washington, International AIDS Education and Training Center (UW-ITECH) will work in collaboration with MOGCD, Ministry of Health, LVCT and other implementing partners to support the design and implementation of a national gender-based violence (GBV) information system (GBV-IS). The GBV-IS will be integrated with other databases in the national data warehouse through standards based approach. UW-ITECH will work with LVCT to assess gaps in the current M&E system and tools, support harmonization of GBV data collection tools and set up an electronic data base for program and national level reporting at the National Office. PEPFAR funds will support purchase of computer hardware and software for the national office, data base design, installation and training of national level staff in managing the database. The resources will also be used for ongoing maintenance costs. In collaboration with LVCT, UW-ITEC will develop a training package and mount 4-6 national trainings of key GBV service providers in the use of the data base and provide limited support in setting up regional databases to improve data flow. GBV data will be collected monthly from health facilities and linked to other routine health information, surveillance and surveys data and analyzed to inform GBV prevention and programs across the country.

Cross Cutting Budget Categories and Known Amounts Total: $360,000
Human Resources for Health $360,000