Chronicles of a data collector

When Henry Mugulo was given a job as a records officer at Busaba Health Centre III, Butaleja, in 2008, he was delighted. Four years of volunteering, were finally over. But when he was showed to his office, part of the joy waned. He had to share space with health service providers for activities such as immunisation of children and a cold chain fridge – the vaccines storage.

“As I worked, I had to bear with the cries from children being immunised and conversations from health workers as they compiled their reports,” he recounts.

Work detail
He had health reports to compile and at that time, data was recorded on paper after which he had to transport it to the district bio-statician weekly. It was laborious.

Butaleja district bio-statician, Luke Were shares the same experience. “At the time I came in, we were using paper-based records after which we had to hand-deliver reports to the Ministry of Health before the 28th day of every month,” Mugulo’s supervisor recalls.

Mugulo’s first salary was Shs210, 000 and off this, he had to use Shs50, 000 for photocopying and transportation of the health records to Were, at the district offices. The records would entail information brought to Busaba Health Centre III.

He was at Busaba Health Centre III for two years, until 2010 when he was transferred to Bugalo Health Centre III, where he had volunteered for four years under the stewardship of his aunt who was the in-charge between 2004 and 2008. She had also motivated him into joining the health care system.

At Bugalo, he realised improvement at work because he had an office which he could keep under lock and key. However, there was little appreciation for record-keeping.
“The facility’s records were kept in a box which was moved from place to place, at different points of the hospital,” Mugulo recalls.

He got hold of the box and started sorting the paper work. He started requisitioning for files so that he could systematically keep the health centre’s records.

Hustle to get better
When the ‘Butaleja Maternal New Born and Child Health (BMNCH)’ project under World Vision Uganda (WVU) started operations in 2015, they called on record officers from the health facilities. Mugulo showed interest and was part of those trained in the use of district health information systems (DHIS).

“I had used a computer before but I would not say that of my colleagues. They were green about even holding a mouse so the training was from computer basics such as switching it on and off and how to type,” Mugulo recounts.

They were all taken through basic computer literacy skills after which they were taught how to enter data, analyse it and how to draw Excel sheets and chats as introduction to the use of DHIS.

He further recalls, “After the training, six health centres were given desktop computers and modems. This eased work a great deal. I no longer had to write on paper and transport weekly reports. All I had to do was type out the information on a computer and enter it into DHIS.”

Milestones
The information collected at the community health facilities is shared with the district bio-statician who then shares it with the Ministry of Health at the national level. The information is then available both to local and international audiences.
Were no longer has to travel to Kampala. He only needs to validate information into the system and send it by a click on a computer. From the information collected, Mugulo and Were say malaria remains the most prevalent disease in their records as captured from various health centres in the district.

It accounts for deaths among children, owing to delay by parents in taking their children to health facilities. Power in Butaleja is not constant and Mugulo is lucky to have a laptop as a back-up option so that his work flow is uninterrupted. He is glad to have a job he is passionate about.

Mugulo at a glance

•Education background: Certificate in Computer Science from YMCA’s Jinja. He undertook Health Management Information System, conducted by officials from ministry of Health in 2014. He also has a diploma in Theology from the Word and Spirit Seminary in Busembatya. He did O-Level at Kaliro High School and A-Level at Bukoyo High School.

•Future plan: He plans to keep his job as a records officer for as long as he can as his contribution to building his nation. His focus is to push on for another two years then go into business. The Butaleja office of World Vision Uganda on Wednesday entrusted him with provide catering services to village health teams (VHTs) and at the organisation’s outreach activities.
•Spends his free time with his family. He has a child whom he likes spending time with, changing diapers and feeding him on days when he is off duty. He is also a local pastor at Deliverance Church, Butaleja.