Qualitative Assessment of the Utilisation of Tier.Net Health Information among facility and programme managers In Ekurhuleni district, Gauteng

Abstract

The South African National Department of Health (NDOH) developed TIER.net - a three-tiered health information system to improve the quality of routine data collection and for the proactive information-driven management of the HIV/AIDS care and treatment programme. Current quarterly reports indicate inefficiencies in the national HIV/AIDS treatment programme, which point to high proportions of patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) lost to follow up, low proportions of patients with viral-load tests done, and numerous instances of drug and commodity stock-outs. This means that even though information generated from TIER.net is readily available to facility managers and programme coordinators in the HIV and AIDS/ Sexually Transmitted Infection/TB (HAST) programme, the information is not effectively used to inform programme planning, implementation and monitoring. The current study evaluated the use of information generated from the TIER.net information system among facility and programme managers in the Ekurhuleni District, Gauteng Province by considering technical, behavioural and organisational factors that influence use.