Improving the Visualization of Health Data on 2.3 Billion People

An interview on dashboard design with DHIS2

District Health Information Software, or DHIS2, is one of the most important sources of health data in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Used by 72 different LMIC governments, DHIS2 is a web-based open-source platform that is used to collect, manage, and analyze routine and critical health data. It is the backbone for national health information systems in these countries and a vital resource for monitoring program and policy performance.

Since developing DHIS2, the Health Information Systems Program at the University of Oslo has worked tirelessly to improve the platform to respond to user needs and support training in the platform. The global health community has simultaneously invested in initiatives to improve DHIS2 data quality and encourage the use of DHIS2. However, there has been less attention towards improving the capacity to visualize data within DHIS2. I’ve previously described how often in global health, dashboards can be treated as go-to solutions without essential reflection on user interpretability and key messages; DHIS2 reflects this same quandary.