Background: High quality routine health system data is essential for tracking progress towards attainment of the
Millennium Development Goals 4 & 5. This study aimed to determine the completeness and accuracy of transfer of
routine maternal health service data at health facility, district and regional levels of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted using secondary data comprised of routine health information data
collected at facility level for the first quarter of 2012. Twelve health facilities were selected using a multistage sampling
method. Data relating to antenatal care and delivery were assessed for completeness and accuracy of data transfer.
Primary source data from health facility level (registers and record notebooks where health information data are initially
entered) , used as the reference data, were counted, collated, and compared with aggregate data on aggregate forms
compiled from these sources by health facility staff. The primary source data was also compared with data in the
district health information management system (DHIMS–II), a web-based data collation and reporting system. Percentage
completeness and percentage error in data transfer were estimated.
Results: Data for all 5,537 antenatal registrants and 3, 466 deliveries recorded into the primary source for the first
quarter of 2012 were assessed. Completeness was best for age data, followed by data on parity and hemoglobin at
registration. Mean completeness of the facility level aggregate data for the data sampled, was 94.3% (95% CI = 90.6% –
98.0%) and 100.0% respectively for the aggregate form and DHIMS-II database. Mean error in data transfer was 1.0%
(95% CI = 0.8% - 1.2%). Percentage error comparing aggregate form data and DHIMS-II data respectively to the primary
source data ranged from 0.0% to 4.9% respectively, while percentage error comparing the DHIMS-II data to aggregate
form data, was generally very low or 0.0%.
Conclusion: Routine maternal health services data in the Greater Accra region, available at the district level through
the DHIMS-II system is complete when compared to facility level primary source data and reliable for use.