The 2006 International District Health Information Software Conference

Useful Information In this website we now provide an overview of the presentations, and access to resources from the DHIS conference

The District Health Information Software has been in use in South Africa for 12 years now, and since 1998 has been used in many other countries. A significant footprint of users has developed over the years, and developers are involved in customising and adapting the software to address their own specific needs in many areas. The conference, which is one of the activities of the Bilateral European African Network for Information Systems in Health (BEANISH) Project, a European Union funded project, brought together users, and developers in order to:

• Identify and share the innovative ways in which the DHIS is being used
• Share expertise amongst users
• Stimulate the creation of a community around the DHIS
• Co-ordinate further development of the software and its application

The conference specifically attracted:

• Software developers who have been, or wanted to become involved in the development of the software.
• DHIS users both advanced and inexperienced users, and those using it in health facilities (clinics and hospitals) and district offices, and managers at district, regional/provincial/state and national levels;
• NGO's, government information officers, senior government managers, and donors who have used the DHIS or are interested in incorporating it in their range of tools.
• Co-ordinate further development of the software and its application

Themes

Plenary sessions accommodated two 40 minute presentations by well known authorities, and there were discussions after each presentation.

Parallel sessions accommodated presentations of 20 minutes, and 10 minute discussions.

Table of themes, and subject areas within the themes:

Conference Programme

Given the aims of the conference, sessions have been arranged so as to provide opportunities to share experiences and explore lessons learnt.
Afternoons sessions focus on practical demonstrations and small group discussions.

Date	Time	Type of session	Theme	Speaker	Topic
Mon 9th	14H00 - 19H00	Registration
	19H00	Opening Banquet
Tue 10th	8H30 - 10:00	Plenary Session 1	An Overview of the DHIS Software Chair Dr Morris Mathebula	Prof Jorn Braa: University of Oslo	DHIS Development across the Globe: An Overview
				Calle Hedberg: HISP South Africa	DHIS as the recipient of the Innovative Integrator Award: Current status and future scenarios
	10H00 - 10H30	Tea
	10H30 - 11H30	Plenary Session 2	State of the Art in DHIS Software Development Chair Dr Morris Mathebula	Calle Hedberg Anil Kumar	An overview of DHIS1.4 and DHIS2.0 Functionality
	11H30 - 13H00	Parallel Session 1	Using information for management Session 1	Jenni Brown	Using information for district services - examples from the Ukhahlamba District, Eastern Cape Province
				Andrew Mc Kenzie	PPRHAA
				Norah Stoops	Enhancing programme management through the DHIS software
				Masoud Mahundi/John Lewis	Using information to improve services in Zanzibar
		Parallel Session 2	Hospital IS	Vincent Shaw	Hospital IS in SA and Malawi
				Sonja Venter	Improving hospital data quality in Mpumalanga
				Rolene Wagner	The EC Provincial Hospital Information Systems Project
		Parallel Session 3	Maintaining data quality	Kobie Venter	Collecting quality data ? Tools and methods
				Louisa Williamson	The Nigerian Experience
				Calle Hedberg	Data cleaning processes at the macro level
		Parallel Session 4	Country presentations Session 1 Chair: Ola Titlestad	Chris Moyo	Malawi
				Calu Mavimbe	Mozambique
				Omprakash Chandna	Botswana
	13H00-14H00	Lunch
	14H00 - 16H00	Workshop 1	DHIS Patient Module and ART Information Systems Chair: Itumeleng Funani	Vincent Shaw	DHIS14 patient module
				Mulugeta Alemayehu Nega	DHIS2.0 ART Module
				Morris Mathebula	Simple data systems for HIV/ART patients in the ECape
				Thanh Nguyen	Patient module in DHIS2.0
		Workshop 2	Pivot table functionality Facilitator: Langa Matshisi	Sonja Venter	Using pivots to best advantage
		Workshop 3	Round Table Discussion - Role of the DIO in data handling Facilitator: Rakshika Bhana	Buli Yeni	Overview of the role & function of the DIO
				Louisa Williamson	Case study: impact of the HMIS data handling monitoring tool in Nigeria
				Maxwell Moyo	Working with District Health Information Officers in Malawi
		Workshop 4	Panel discussion DHIS Software - what users want Chair: Louisa Williamson	Panel Calle Hedberg Greg Rowles Knut Staring Ola Titlestad Anil Kumar	You tell the techie nerds what features you want to see in the DHIS
	16H00 - 16H30	Tea
	16H30 - 18H00	Product fair	Demonstrations of software, training manuals, displays and posters
	18H30 - 19H30	Supper
	20H00 - 21H00	Plenary Session 3	Panel discussion DHISoftware development across the globe Experiences to date and strategies for its future organization Chair: Knut Staring	SA: Calle Hedberg India: Prof Jorn Braa Vietnam: Dr Huy Ethiopia: Mulugeta Alemayehu Nega	Introduction: Knut Staring Part I: What have been the concrete challenges and approaches to the DHIS development and deployment - especially focused on the issue of capacity? Part II: Exploring possible alternative strategies to its future organization, and the various implications of these different approaches
Wed 11th	8H30 - 10H00	Plenary Session 4	HIS Development	Prof Geoff Walsham: University of Cambridge, UK	Institutionalising health information systems in developing countries: issues and challenges
				Speaker from National DoH to be confirmed	Using the DHIS for National level planning
	10H00 - 10H30	Tea
	10H30 - 11H30	Plenary Session 5	Supporting Information Systems Development in Challenging Environments	Anil Kumar John Lewis	The activities of HISP India
				Bill Agir Aluka Terpase	Strengthening HMIS systems in Nigeria
	11H30 - 13H00	Parallel Session 5	Using Information for Management Session 2	Peter Netshipale	Integrating NPO data on PHC into the DHIS
				Oumiki Khumisi	Use of information in the SA National office
				Stiaan Byleveld	Strengthen Pharmaceutical Information Systems
				Gavin Reagon	Waiting times survey
		Parallel Session 6	Panel discussion Development of DHIS Manuals & Training Resources Facilitator: Norah Stoops		Harnessing local contributions for the HISP network. On-line manual and resource development
		Parallel Session 7	Scaling of Information Systems Chair: Johann Saebo	Jorn Braa	HIS development in South Africa: Examining the process
				Vincent Shaw	Scaling Information Systems in Nigeria
				John Lewis	Scaling Information Systems in India
		Parallel Session 8	Country presentations Session 2 Chair: Ola Titlestad	Hashim Twakyondo	Tanzania
				Masoud Mahundi	Zanzibar
				Mulugeta Alemayehu Nega	Ethiopia
				Dr Huy	Vietnam
	13H00 - 14H00	Lunch
	14H00 - 16H00	Workshop 5	GIS Mapping Facilitator: Knut Staring	Langa Matshisi	GIS mapping in DHIS13
				Knut Staring	Using other FOSS for GIS
		Workshop 6	Website development Facilitator: Hans Tommerholt	Hans Tommerholt	An exploration of the HISP Wiki
				Vincent Shaw	Using the wiki to share resources in Nigeria
		Workshop 7	Round Table Discussion - Research initiatives Facilitator: Louisa Williamson	Jorn Braa	Existing research initiatives and identification of key new areas for research
				Louisa Williamson	Research that has been done by PhD and Masters students
	16H00 - 16H30	Tea
	16H30 - 18H00	Evening sessions	Open session
	19H00 onwards	Formal dinner MC: Dr Morris Mathebula		Shuttleworth Foundation	Role of the Shuttleworth Foundation in Developing Open Source Solutions