ABSTRACT
Strategic use of reliable health information systems is vital in transforming the performance of health systems. In the absence of clear governance and leadership structures, policies and processes, the health sector is likely to experience a waste of resources due to duplication of efforts, resulting in non-strategic investments. Health information systems serve to provide alerts and early warnings, support patients and health facility management, enable planning, stimulate research, permit situation and trend analyses and reinforce health changes to diverse users. Despite the existence of health information systems in Tanzania, data is rarely analyzed or used to inform evidence-based decision making.
There is no doubt that sound leadership and governance influence the culture of data use at levels, which has not been the case in most resource-limited settings. This chapter intends to demonstrate how good leadership and governance can significantly improve the interplay between health service providers (those who produce data) and managers (those who use data) to make evidence-based decisions. From this chapter, the users of the handbook will understand and apply elements of leadership and governance in ensuring the collection of quality data, analysis and use of data.
