Assessing the adoption and utilization of the Rwanda COVID-19 data analytics system: a mixed methods approach

Rwanda has been widely lauded for its exceptional response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, although Rwanda established a national system for COVID-19 testing and vaccination data, concerns have been raised about data fragmentation which requires linkage of various data sources, access to data for real-time decision-making, and data completeness.

We assessed the adoption of the Rwanda COVID-19 data Analytics System (RCAS) for public health staff that employ data from various platforms to generate evidence for policy- and decision-making. A random sample of 56 participants was drawn from the 98 who attended the 2022 RCAS training for data managers from the Rwanda Biomedical Center, technical partners, and health facilities. Of the selected participants, 42 completed the online self-administered questionnaire within the 14-day data collection period. Key informant interviews were then conducted with a subset of 14 respondents.

A strong positive relationship (χ² = 9.1049, P < 0.05) emerged between respondents' decision-making regarding RCAS and their support for its sustainability. There was a marginal association (χ² = 3.3358, P = 0.059) suggesting a link between users' ease of data exchange through RCAS and their support for its long-term sustainability, warranting further exploration.

RCAS had a positive impact on improvements in data linkage, access to individual-level data for analyses, and progress toward harmonization of health data beyond COVID-19 in Rwanda. Users noted the usability, acceptability, and interoperability of the system. Recommendations for further improvement and scaling of the intervention are discussed.