Integration and scaling of health information system to strengthen vaccination services delivery in india

Improving effectiveness, coverage, equity and affordability of immunization programs is central to the Indian NRHM agenda, with the key strategy being to strengthen information support for program monitoring and evaluation. Core to this is an integrated a nd decentralised Health Information System (HIS), enabling planners to identify gaps in services, especially for marginalized groups. This is a major challenge, as the current HIS is fragmented, with data incomplete and of poor quality. The proposed proj ect employs a cross-disciplinary Indian-Norwegian consortium on HIS research and development for monitoring and evaluation in the health system, improving information collection and supporting interventions to address inequities. Building on our existing NFR GLOBVAC project, the emphasis in the present proposal is to scale up existing activities. This implies addressing the information needs of stakeholders at all levels of the health system (community, district, state and national) by improved integrati on. Further institutionalisation of the free and open source based software is crucial. The challenges facing our proposal are both operationally relevant and the research frontier of socially informed information systems research. Masters, PhD and post-d octoral students and researchers will work with health staff to develop practical and theoretical implications from the project. The project will explore mechanisms to integrate the HIS while strengthening vaccine program systems, and institutionalize in formation use, as the primary means to achieve scaleable and sustainable HIS. The research involves situation analysis, assessment of interventions, and cross-district/state comparisons. The proposed work packages support project management and Norway-Ind ia cooperation, specific interventions and sub-projects, and software development. Important is the consortium's proven track record in India, through a smaller sub-project in the ongoing GLOBVAC project.