Rapid Health Facility Survey and Basic Health Management Information System (HMIS) Data Collection in Vietnam

Project Overview

• Field: Health policy and systems
• Duration: 01/10/2022 – 30/06/2023
• Funder: World Bank, through the Global Financing Facility (GFF)
• Implementing agency: Center for Environmental and Health Studies (CEHS)
• Location: 400 health facilities (100 district-level and 300 commune-level) across 55 provinces and cities nationwide

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to the delivery of essential health services, affecting the effectiveness of maternal and child health programs and basic health services. To help countries track the extent of these disruptions, the Global Financing Facility (GFF) and the World Bank research team launched a multi-country study on monitoring essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Vietnam, the project assessed the extent of disruption to essential health services at health facilities, while collecting and standardizing data from the Ministry of Health's Health Management Information System (HMIS). The findings provided evidence to inform solutions for sustaining health system operations during public health emergencies and contributed to tracking Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in health.

CEHS's Role

CEHS directly implemented the research in Vietnam with technical support from the World Bank and coordination with the Department of Planning and Finance, Ministry of Health. CEHS was responsible for developing a plan and coordinating nationwide survey implementation; receiving, finalizing and piloting the rapid survey toolkit; developing guidance materials, training surveyors and establishing a network of data collection focal points; conducting four rounds of rapid phone surveys at health facilities; collecting, standardizing, managing and cleaning HMIS data from multiple sources; and coordinating with the Ministry of Health to track, reconcile and finalize health statistics data for the multi-country study.

Key Activities

• Developing and finalizing the technical proposal, survey toolkit and implementation guidance.
• Training surveyors, pilot-testing the survey, and establishing a network of focal points for HMIS data collection.
• Conducting four rounds of rapid phone surveys at 400 health facilities from Q3 2022 to Q2 2023 to assess disruption to essential health services.
• Collecting, consolidating and standardizing HMIS data from Q1 2018 to Q1 2023.
• Managing the database, standardizing variables, labeling data and converting data into formats for analysis and international data sharing.

Key Results

• Completed four rounds of rapid surveys at 400 health facilities across 55 provinces and cities, providing timely data on the extent of essential health service disruption during COVID-19.
• Collected, consolidated and standardized HMIS data for Q1 2018 – Q1 2023, forming a unified dataset for analysis and monitoring.
• Developed a process for collecting, managing and standardizing HMIS data, helping improve the quality of local health statistics.
• Established a coordination network between CEHS, the Ministry of Health and health facilities for updating, reconciling and managing health statistics data.
• Contributed Vietnam's data to the World Bank and GFF multi-country study, supporting tracking of health indicators and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).