“Every day they keep adding new tools but they don’t take any away”: Producing indicators for intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) from routine data in Kenya

BACKGROUND: Intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) is part of a multi-pronged strategy aimed at preventing malaria in pregnancy in areas of moderate to high transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite being formally adopted as a malaria prevention policy over a decade ago, IPTp coverage has remained low. Recent demands for action have incorporated calls to strengthen IPTp monitoring and evaluation systems, including the use of routine data, to measure coverage, track implementation and identify roadblocks to improving uptake. Concerns about the quality of malaria indicators reported through routine information systems are well recognized, but there are few data on the realities of IPTp recording practices in frontline facilities or their entry into District Health Information Software (DHIS2). METHODS: Drawing on fieldwork conducted in two malaria endemic sub-counties in Kenya, we explore how local adaptations and innovations employed by health workers and sub-country managers to cope with a range of health system constraints, shape recording practices and in turn, the measurement of IPTp. Data were collected through observations, interviews, and document reviews. Data analysis and interpretation was guided by thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: Measurement of IPTp was undermined by health system constraints such as stock-out of drugs and human resource shortages. Coping strategies adopted by health workers to address these challenges ensured continuity in service delivery and IPTp data generation but had variable consequences on IPTp data quality. Unclear recording and reporting instructions also led to lack of standardization in IPTp data generation. The use of redundant tools created significant data burdens which undermined service delivery in general. CONCLUSIONS: There is need to integrate monthly reporting forms so as to remove redundancies which exacerbates workload for health workers and disrupts service delivery. Similarly, data collection instructions in registers and reporting forms need to be clarified to standardize IPTp data generation across health facilities. There is also need to address broader contextual factors such as stock-out of commodities and human resource shortages which undermine IPTp data generation process.