Abstract

BACKGROUND: A health information system (HIS) is crucial for the planning and management of health services. A HIS provides evidence for programme and policy decisions to ensure better population health outcomes. A HIS aims to improve data collection and handling to extract valuable information thus providing quality health services. Rehabilitation therapists in health facilities in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) collect data for the monitoring and evaluation of rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation departments in different health facilities have designed data collection tools that are suitable for their institutions, resulting in inconsistency in what is collected across the province of KZN. The study seeks to explore the perceptions of rehabilitation coordinators concerning appropriate indicators for planning and monitoring rehabilitation services in health facilities in KZN.

METHODS: An exploratory qualitative approach was used. Data was collected through face-to-face in-depth interviews with rehabilitation coordinators who were employed in provincial and district offices in the KZN Department of Health in 2018. Interviews were conducted from June 2018 through September 2018. Each interview was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was implemented.

RESULTS: The participants highlighted that community outreach, access to multiple assistive devices and discipline specific indicators are appropriate for monitoring rehabilitation services. In addition, integration of rehabilitation indicators with priority programmes such as HIV and TB should be considered.

CONCLUSION: Rehabilitation coordinators conceptualise the current indicators as limited and insufficient. Rehabilitation indicators should be have linkages with other programmes and reflect the multiple disciplines that fall within rehabilitation services.

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