Registry based reproductive health research in Northern Tanzania
In 2000 reproductive health registry was started at the KCMC hospital. The purpose is to provide essential data on a range of important reproductive health outcomes and to build necessary competence in registration, computer management and research for registry operation.
Main content
Funding: NUFU
Coordinator: Rolv Terje Lie
Main partner: Tumaini University Makumira
Other partners:
Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences
Period: 2007-2012
Synopsis:
Synopsis/description
In 2000 we started a reproductive health registry at the KCMC hospital. The system has registered all births at this large zonal hospital since and contained about 20 000 births by end of 2005. The purposes were to provide essential data on a range of important reproductive health outcomes and to build necessary competence in registration, computer management and reserach for registry operation. Our ambition has been, in due time, to expand the registry.
To cover an extended population in Northern Tanzania. The first steps of our plan, to build basic competence and to create a basis for registration has been achieved. We need to work further to consolidate the registry and complete our plans of creating an extended and sustainable registry activity. Our experience in the first phase of the project and with the current data provide important imformation for future developments. The registry is a valuabe resource for research. The scientific value of the data would however increase substantually by continued registration. By developing registry and computer expertise the project is also planned to have a general impact on the use of computer technology at health institutions in Tanzania. The project will build capacity in registry epidemiology, registry management, computer technolgy and clinical epidemiology. There is a spectrum of reproductive health problems in Northern Tanzania. A registry is a cost-effective approach to addressing those problems. Sub-project cover areas like perinatal and maternal mortality, prevalenece and implications of maternal HIV-infection or other common infections, use of contraception, social inequalities and reproductive health, genital mutulation, use of medications during pregnancy, maternal psychiatric disorders, and surveillance of clinical interventions.
