Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve the Sensitivity of Malaria Reporting under Integrated Health Information Platform, Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, 2023

SUMMARY: The Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) captured 44% of laboratory-tested malaria cases from primary health centers (PHCs) in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, in September 2023. Our quality improvement (QI) project aimed to improve the sensitivity (% of laboratory-tested malaria cases entered in IHIP compared to registers) to 80% among four selected PHCs with poor sensitivity. We conducted a quasi-experimental time-series study using the Plan-Do-Study-Act method. We identified inadequate laboratory technicians' knowledge of data entry in IHIP and poor feedback from the district surveillance unit (DSU) as the root causes. By implementing refresher training for laboratory technicians and a weekly feedback mechanism from DSU, we achieved 100% sensitivity within 5 weeks across selected PHCs. Our study highlighted the feasibility of using the QI initiative to identify and address the root causes. We recommend adopting QI methods to address setting-specific root causes and improve the outcomes.