| dc.description.abstract | Zambia’s Health Management Information System (HMIS) is currently undergoing a strengthening process. One aim of the strengthening process is to improve data use. Data in Zambia´s HMIS receives limited usage for data-informed decision making. Earlier studies have identified some challenges to data use such as poor data quality, data availability etc. This thesis is an exploratory interpretive study on Zambia´s data-use workshops and how they contribute to data use in Zambia public health domain. It looked to identify how and for what purposes data is used, what are the key challenges to data use, and the prospects of introducing live data visualization tools to strengthen data-use workshops and data use. The study has involved users from all levels of Zambia´s HMIS in order to identify common thoughts and ideas on live data visualization tools; and data use at large. It mainly involved attending a data-use workshop, conducting interviews along with document analysis. The study identifies key challenges to data use as financial constraints, infrastructure constraints, poor data quality, limited data availability and accountability and lack of key data competencies by personnel. The implementation of live data visualizations tools, for the strengthening of DIMs and data use, was likely to impact both positively. However, while the study´s findings suggest that live data tools could potentially improve data use through improving data access, data availability and data quality, such measures would also be challenged by general financial and infrastructural constraints. In addition, I develop a model for the potential introduction of live data visualization tools. The model identifies reciprocal and determinant relationship between the challenges and the live data visualization tools. | eng |