Our Strategy

Our strategies to accomplishing results include:

Engage in strategic identification of priorities and sustained coordination with the FMOH and relevant partners, ensuring that activities are based on demand and meets specific objectives
Inventory of all completed health facility based surveys, censuses and disease outbreak studies
Catalogue the data (micro/meta) using simple excel program developed for this purpose
Document each survey data using the Microdata Management Toolkit and output the product in XML file formats, enhancing good data mgmt practices
Disseminate the result using a web-based platform, a.k.a. electronic Health Data Documentation Center, housed, operated and managed by the FMOH
Use the data. Potential uses include:

- Publish an annual book of abstract to publicize the content of the archive so that users can take advantage of it
- Respond to requests for information from government and non-governmental sources
- Synthesize data to elaborate lessons from previous research
- Conduct secondary analysis on specific topic of interest based on demand

We present a short description of each of these pathways below:

Inventory of completed surveys/censuses/assessments

The inventory consists of a simple listing and profiling of all surveys that have been conducted in specific agencies. Using our phased plan, these will be agencies in Phase 1. Inventory and profiling is conducted using a simple tool that has been developed for this purpose. All inventories are conducted by a team of FMOH and MEASURE Evaluation (the Lead Technical Assistant Partner), initiated by a visit to the specific agency. Information on specific surveys and/or assessments is provided by a focal person (s) in the organization that is being inventoried.

Catalogue the data

Documentation will occur in two phases: (1) the basic information about the data, consisting of name, the producing organization, a simple description of the data, and contact address for follow up are abstracted using a simple excel program that have been developed for this purpose. The result is disseminated as metadata catalogue for immediate consumption. The microdata is then prepared for documentation using the MMTK. The result of the MMTK documentation is disseminated as survey catalogues.

The tool

Data documentation is performed using the Microdata Management Toolkit (MMTK). MMTK is an international best practice developed by several organizations, led by the World Bank. The approach consists of two standard Frameworks: the data documentation initiative (DDI) and the Dublin Core Metadata documentation Initiative (DCMI). The DCMI is an organization dedicated to promoting the widespread adoption of interoperable metadata standards and standard metadata vocabularies for describing resources that enable more intelligent information discovery systems. The DDI is an international XML-based standard for content, presentation, transportation, and preservation of documented datasets. In addition, DDI:

- provides a straightforward means to record and communicate to others all the salient characteristic of Micro-datasets;
- facilitates the sharing of structured data across different information systems, particularly via the Internet.
- Engenders data interoperability

DDI was developed by an Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, consisting of about 25 institutions in North America and Europe and is widely utilized around the world. Both of these Frameworks are adopted within the FMOH DIDI.

Components of MMTK

- Metadata Editor – Allows the user to add survey metadata and create the ddi.xml as a nesster study document. Data are documented using standard templates and output files are produced in several formats: NESSTAR, XML (using DDI), and PDF. NESSTAR allows the browsing and accessing of data in a user friendly manner.
- CD-ROM Builder – Allows the user to generate HTML outputs from the study that can be published on a CD or on the internet for dissemination.
- NADA Standalone- Stand alone search engine that allows the user to import the ddi.xml and search for variables and view metadata on the desktop.
- NADA Server- Server-based search engine that allows the user to import the ddi.xml and search for variables and view metadata on the internet
- **Statistical tool: An associated toolkit that allows the production of basic statistics on the fly, if micro data is available

To learn more about MMTK, please visit http://www.surveynetwork.org

Type of data included in the inventory and documentation

- - All HF based surveys, censuses, and assessments, e.g.
    - - Service Provision Assessment (SPA); Service Availability Mapping (SAM); Health Facility Census —JICA; HRH Assessment — Abt Associates; Evaluation of Long Acting and Permanent Methods Services Suite (ELMS) —Engenderhealth (ACQUIRE Project) (HF readiness to deliver LAPM); Rapid-Health Facility Assessment (R-HFA) — MEASURE Evaluation/ICF Macro; Assessing Integration Methodology (AIM)
  - All disease outbreak studies, including those led by the FMOH HIV/AIDS Division
  - All Household Surveys in the health sector, including DHS, MICS, etc.

(Note: Routine/ Admin data are not included in this documentation)

Anonymization
The FMOH Data Archive collaborates with the NBS to anonymize data so that confidentiality of the respondents and the integrity of the data producing institutions are preserved. Anonymization is achieved by:

- Restricting access to data that present a potential disclosure risk to scrutinized users only; restriction guidelines are stated in the data access guidelines.
- Removing data identifiers and modifying the content of variables which could potentially identify a physical or legal individual. This operation should not make the data of less value for analysis but users need to apply caution when interpreting modified variables.

As with the National Data Archive, the FMOH DIDI seeks to minimize the information loss while ensuring an acceptable level of disclosure risk. The FMOH adopts principles and methods for assessing risk and for anonymizing recommended by the International Household Survey Network. To learn more, please visit http://www.surveynetwork.org.

Dissemination & Utilization
Data dissemination increases the quality, access to, and use of data, by:

1. Creating awareness of available data and potential ways in which they may be utilized
2. Increasing the potential to use data to inform policy and programs
3. Reducing the costs of data collection and the burden on respondents; awareness created by dissemination should reduce duplication of efforts by avoiding the need for researchers to undertake their own surveys;
4. Demonstrating transparency and credibility in data production, which are at the heart of good governance; and
5. Permitting the incorporation of users’ feedback to future data collection; by so doing data quality is progressively improved

As cautioned by the NBS-based National Data Archive, data dissemination could expose data producers to criticism, violates respondent confidentiality or increase the potential for such violations. The impact on data quality and data use of making data accessible to users, however, far outweighs those risks. The position of the National Bureau of Statistics, the mandatory Custodian of data nation-wide, is that access to microdata is the right of citizens of Nigeria and not a privilege. This position is upheld by the FMOH. Access is, however, only permitted to bona fide users, and only for statistical and research purposes.

Data use

The FMOH support widespread use of data. To increase use, the Agency, in collaboration with, MEASURE Evaluation, plans to publish the handbook of Abstract annually. This handbook will contain simple description of each of the survey/censuses/assessments in the database for users’ information. Also in the pipeline is a hand book of statistics to be based on analysis of data in the database and oriented to identifying lessons learned and gaps from program implementation. Finally, the Initiative will also respond to users request for information and supports further analysis based on demand.

Preservation
To preserve data quality and integrity, the FMOH is implementing standard procedures and data backup protocols for ensuring the physical security and long-term usability of its resources.