DHIS2

Last updated
DHIS2
Developer(s) HISP Centre at the University of Oslo
Initial release1996
Stable release
v2.39 / 27 Oct 2022
Type Health management information system
License DHIS 1 (1.4): GPL
DHIS 2: BSD
Website www.dhis2.org

DHIS2 (also spelled DHIS 2, formerly District Health Information Software) is a free and open-source software platform for the collection, reporting, analysis and dissemination of aggregate and individual-level data. [1]

Contents

The most common use of DHIS2 is for health data, where it can be implemented for individual health programs and/or as a national-scale Health Management Information System (HMIS). As of the end of 2022, DHIS2 was in use by Ministries of Health in more than 75 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with 69 countries using DHIS2 at national scale. [2] Beyond health, DHIS2 is used in sectors such as education, [3] supply chain and logistics, [4] water and sanitation, nutrition and food security, agriculture and land management, and e-governance, among others. DHIS2 is officially recognized as a Digital Public Good. [5]

Development of the core DHIS2 software is coordinated by the HISP Centre at the University of Oslo (formerly the Health Information Systems Programme), where it is housed within the Department of Informatics. The DHIS2 project is supported financially by a coalition of global partners, including Norad; PEPFAR; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; UNICEF; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and the University of Oslo. [6] The HISP Centre is an official Collaborating Centre of the World Health Organization. [7]

DHIS2 software

As a digital solution for data collection and management, DHIS2 can be used for aggregate data (e.g. routine health facility data, staffing, equipment, infrastructure, population estimates, etc.), event data (e.g. disease outbreaks, survey/audit data, patient satisfaction surveys, etc.), and individual-level longitudinal data (e.g. vaccination records, lab sample collection and testing, patient treatment and follow-up, student progress, etc.). The system supports the capture of data linked to any level in an organizational hierarchy at any data collection frequency.

DHIS2 includes built-in tools for analytics, including dashboards, charts, pivot tables and maps, as well as data validation and data quality features. It also includes tools to support collaborative data use, such as sharing, commenting and interpretation. [8] The DHIS2 platform can be extended with custom applications (which can be published and shared through the DHIS2 App Hub) or integrated with third-party software or external data sources through the open web API. [9] DHIS2 supports health data standards such as FHIR, SNOMED GPS, LOINC, and ICD-10, as well as the generic ADX format for aggregate data exchange. [10] The DHIS2 data model and platform are generic by design, not specifically tailored to the health context, to facilitate the application of DHIS2 to a variety of use cases.

DHIS2 is a web-based platform. The core software and database are hosted on a server, which can be either physically located in the country of ownership or cloud-based. Users can access the DHIS2 through any modern web browser. In addition, the DHIS2 Capture Android application can be used to collect and update DHIS2 data on mobile devices and tablets that use the Android operating system. [11] When data is entered through the web or Android application, it is synced with the central DHIS2 server for that instance. Each individual instance of the DHIS2 software and the data it contains is locally owned and managed.

DHIS2 includes support for translation and localization, and has already been translated into a number of languages including French, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi, Vietnamese, Chinese and Norwegian. [12]

DHIS2 software development occurs in 6-month cycles of backend releases, plus periodic patch releases and continuous app releases. Development is coordinated by the HISP Centre according to a collaboratively planned, public roadmap that prioritizes generic improvements that meet country needs. [13]

Uses of DHIS2

Health

DHIS2 is currently in use as a Health Management Information System in more than 75 low- and middle-income countries. 69 of these countries have deployed DHIS2 at national scale. DHIS2 is also used by national health authorities and international health programs and organizations for management of health programs related to specific diseases, such as HIV, TB, and Malaria, among others, as well as for general public health programs such as disease surveillance, routine immunization, and maternal and child health. [14] In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 55 countries rapidly deployed or extended DHIS2 for national pandemic response and/or vaccination. [15]

Education

Since 2019, the HISP Centre has worked with six countries to pilot DHIS2 as an Education Management Information System (EMIS), with financial support from NORAD and GPE/KIX. This use case adapts the core DHIS2 functionality and data model to the education sector for such purposes as student and teacher records, school report cards, and resource allocation. [16]

Logistics

DHIS2 is used for health logistics data in more than 20 countries in Africa and Asia, where it serves as a last-mile solution for facility-level data capture for health commodities. Most commonly, this involves regular reporting of aggregate data on stocks and usage of common medical supply items such as vaccines, medications, syringes, etc, which facilitates triangulation of health service and commodity data as well as forecasting. In addition, some countries use DHIS2 for vaccine cold chain or other electronic Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS) use cases.

Other uses

As a generic software platform, DHIS2 has been adapted for a variety of use cases both within and beyond the health sector. In addition to the most common uses listed above, examples of known DHIS2 projects include water and sanitation, nutrition and food security, agriculture and land management, and e-governance. [17]

History of DHIS development

The original District Health Information Software (DHIS) was developed for three health districts in Cape Town as part of the Health Information Systems Programme (HISP), a collaborative research project between the University of Oslo and the University of the Western Cape that began in 1994.

DHIS 1.3 and 1.4

The DHIS version 1 series goes back to 1996 and was developed on the Microsoft Access platform consisting of VBA for the interface or program logic (front-end), Access as a database (back-end), Excel for reporting and Windows as the OS. DHIS 1.4 (from 2005) is a significant overhaul of the version 1.3 database structure, using various output formats for reporting. It bridges the gap between DHIS 1.3 and 2.

DHIS2

DHIS version 2 (from 2004) is a continuation of DHIS version 1 developed on open source Java technologies and available as an online web application. The first release, version 2.0, came in February 2008 after three years of development releases, and the most recent version is 2.39 (as of October 2022). [18] DHIS2 is developed using open-source Java frameworks and tools, such as the Spring Framework, Hibernate, Struts2, Maven, and JUnit. [19]

Related Research Articles

A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific to a hardware platform and operating system combination. To create applications with advanced functionalities such as advertisements, push notifications, etc; most application software developers use specific software development kits.

An application program is a computer program designed to carry out a specific task other than one relating to the operation of the computer itself, typically to be used by end-users. Word processors, media players, and accounting software are examples. The collective noun "application software" refers to all applications collectively. The other principal classifications of software are system software, relating to the operation of the computer, and utility software ("utilities").

Thailand's National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) is a statutory government organization under the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. Its main responsibilities are to undertake, support, and promote the development of electronic, computing, telecommunication, and information technologies through research and development activities. NECTEC also disseminates and transfers such technologies for contribution to the economic growth and social development in the country, following the National Economic and Social Development Plan.

Mobile app development is the act or process by which a mobile app is developed for one or more mobile devices, which can include personal digital assistants (PDA), enterprise digital assistants (EDA), or mobile phones. Such software applications are specifically designed to run on mobile devices, taking numerous hardware constraints into consideration. Common constraints include CPU architecture and speeds, available memory (RAM), limited data storage capacities, and considerable variation in displays and input methods. These applications can be pre-installed on phones during manufacturing or delivered as web applications, using server-side or client-side processing to provide an "application-like" experience within a web browser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Android (operating system)</span> Mobile operating system

Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance, though its most widely used version is primarily developed by Google. It was unveiled in November 2007, with the first commercial Android device, the HTC Dream, being launched in September 2008.

Wrike, Inc. is an American project management application service provider based in San Jose, California. Wrike also has offices in Dallas, Tallinn, Nicosia, Dublin, Tokyo, Melbourne and Prague.

The Android Package with the file extension apk is the file format used by the Android operating system, and a number of other Android-based operating systems for distribution and installation of mobile apps, mobile games and middleware. It can be written in either Java or Kotlin.

DrChrono is an American digital health technology company that provides software and billing services on a platform of web- and cloud-based apps for doctors and patients. The company makes electronic health records (EHR), practice management software, and medical billing software and provides medical revenue cycle management (RCM) services. The company is based in Sunnyvale, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ChromeOS</span> Linux-based operating system developed by Google

ChromeOS, sometimes styled as chromeOS and formerly styled as Chrome OS, is a Linux-based operating system developed and designed by Google. It is derived from the open-source ChromiumOS and uses the Google Chrome web browser as its principal user interface.

Waze, formerly FreeMap Israel, is a subsidiary company of Google that provides satellite navigation software on smartphones and other computers that support the Global Positioning System (GPS). In addition to turn-by-turn navigation, it incorporates user-submitted travel times and route details while downloading location-dependent information over a cellular network. Waze describes its application as a community-driven initiative that is free to download and use.

A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on desktop computers, and web applications which run in mobile web browsers rather than directly on the mobile device.

Perforce, legally Perforce Software, Inc., is an American developer of software used for developing and running applications, including version control software, web-based repository management, developer collaboration, application lifecycle management, web application servers, debugging tools and Agile planning software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MaaS 360</span>

IBM MaaS360 is a SaaS Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solution offered by IBM that manages and protects any existing endpoint including laptops, desktops, mobile devices and apps, wearables, IoT and purpose built devices and allow protected, low risk access to company resources. IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson integrates with current security platforms owned by different companies. It’s AI powered analytics removes friction by reducing actions required from the device user.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AppSheet</span> No-code development platform

AppSheet is an application that provides a no-code development platform for application software, which allows users to create mobile, tablet, and web applications using data sources like Google Drive, DropBox, Office 365, and other cloud-based spreadsheet and database platforms. The platform can be utilized for a broad set of business use cases including project management, customer relationship management, field inspections, and personalized reporting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft 365</span> Subscription services offered by Microsoft

Microsoft 365 is a product family of productivity software, collaboration and cloud-based services owned by Microsoft. It encompasses online services such as Outlook.com, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, programs formerly marketed under the name Microsoft Office, enterprise products and services associated with these products such as Exchange Server, SharePoint, and Yammer. It also covers subscription plans encompassing these products, including those that include subscription-based licenses to desktop and mobile software, and hosted email and intranet services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthy Together</span> Public health technology company

Healthy Together is a proprietary health technology company that builds SaaS technology for government, education and enterprise. The platforms use is to increase the reach and efficacy of program initiatives, improve health equity and reduce cost. Software is available in the United States of America with current deployments in Utah, Florida, Oklahoma and Colorado. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs also utilizes Healthy Together's mobile platform to provide over 18 million Veterans with digital access to their health information.

References

  1. ↑ "About DHIS2". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  2. ↑ "In Action". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  3. ↑ "DHIS2 for Education". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  4. ↑ "Logistics". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  5. ↑ "DHIS2 - DPGA Details". app.digitalpublicgoods.net. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  6. ↑ "Our Vision & Partners". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  7. ↑ "WHOCC - WHO Collaborating Centres". apps.who.int. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  8. ↑ "Analytics Overview". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  9. ↑ "Technology". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  10. ↑ "Integration & Interoperability". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  11. ↑ "Android Overview". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  12. ↑ "Localization & Translation". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  13. ↑ "Roadmap Process". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  14. ↑ "WHO Packages". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  15. ↑ "Covid-19". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  16. ↑ "Home". DHIS2 | Education. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  17. ↑ "Impact Stories". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  18. ↑ "Downloads". DHIS2. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  19. ↑ Braa, Jørn; Humberto Muquing (2007). "Building collaborative networks in Africa on health information systems and open source software development – Experiences from the HISP/BEANISH network". CiteSeerX   10.1.1.131.8950 .{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.