Systematic review on challenges for integration of health management information systems in enhancing HIV and AIDS estimation and monitoring across Sub-Saharan African countries

Abstract

Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries suffer from high disease burdens, including HIV and AIDS. Data from the national Health Management Information System (HMIS) to inform HIV and AIDS estimates are relatively poor, negatively impacting monitoring of the epidemic. The challenge necessitates a need for increased integration and functionality of the national HMIS to deliver timely and reliable information to healthcare workers and managers. This study investigates how the challenges to effective integration of HMIS in SSA countries impact the availability of good quality HIV estimation and monitoring. We conducted a systematic review of relevant publications from 2008 to 2024. The findings show that, despite the efforts by SSA countries, challenges continue to impede the meaningful utilization of HMIS to produce good quality HIV estimates. The challenges are attributed to technical, organizational and behavioural factors, such as limited integration of HIV programme components, poor data quality, inadequate resources, weak leadership, lack of accountability, and limited enforcement of HMIS regulatory frameworks. Hence, the systems hardly respond timely to the expanding data requirements of the HIV estimation tools and monitoring requirements. The study recommends SSA governments and partners to support HMIS development and on job training in data collection, cleaning, and analysis.