Free software

A collaborative project between the National Department of Health and the Initiative for Sub-district Support, as part Health Systems Trust

The main objective in undertaking this research study is to develop an instrument that will measure the satisfaction levels of clients utilising hospitals in South Africa. The client satisfaction tool (CS Tool) included in this guide drew on the experience of measuring client satisfaction at two district hospitals, East Griqualand and Usher Memorial Hospital in Kokstad and Gordonia Hospital in Upington. Experience was also drawn from a number of international studies, particularly from Ghana, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

The District Health Barometer (DHB) is a collection of health indicators which presents a snapshot of how well the health districts in South Africa provide primary health care to the population. These indicators do not provide any form of complex analysis or in-depth research, yet they point to districts that need improvement and support and likewise to those districts that are doing well. They show how districts are performing relative to one another and relative to their province and the national average.Using the District Health Barometer (DHB), comparisons can now be made between the six metropolitan districts, between the 13 rural node districts or between any districts that are of a similar socio-economic status and size. The purpose of this first District Health Barometer is to function as a tool to monitor progress and support improvement of equitable provision of primary health care, as well as to highlight data irregularities and errors that may occur in the collection and collation of data available in the national District Health Information System. The District Health Barometer Year 1, uses the population figures from the DHIS which are closely based on the Census 1996 and Census 2001 data. In both sets of census data there has been an under-estimation of the number of children under 5 years old. The Department of Health are working together with StatsSA to provide accurate and official population estimates of children under 5 years in each district, and hope to have this work completed by March 2006. These estimates affect especially the immunisation indicators. The next District Health Barometer, which should be available by the end of 2006, will show the corrected immunisation and population figures for 2004 and 2005.

The HST is currently involved in a number of activities which relate to the DHB, which will provide some baseline infrastructure, expertise and linkages. These include:

The following information is provided in electronic format only as a supplement to the SAHR 2003/04.
To download any of the files please 'right click' on the file name and choose 'save target as'