NCHP Enhances Data Management Capacity Through Kobo Toolbox Training

The National Centre for Health Promotion (NCHP) was established in 1994 as a part of the Ministry of Health in Cambodia and is responsible for providing technical support to Health Promotion Units at Provincial Health Departments across the country. NCHP and Population Services International (PSI) are currently working together in the implementation of a five-year, USAID funded Social Behavior Change (SBC) project, “Promoting Healthy Behaviors” (PHB). The PHB project will foster a vibrant and cohesive SBC community of practice (CoP) to strengthen public sector systems for oversight and coordination of SBC at national and provincial levels, as well as to enhance the capacity of individuals to adopt healthy behaviors.

In March 2019, PHB conducted the ITOCA assessment to assess capacity gaps at NCHP. In response to assessment findings, PHB organized a three-day Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) training on Kobo Toolbox: A Mobile Data Collection & Reporting Tool. The training included 22 NCHP participants, and focused on improving their capacities in data collection, management, and analysis to contribute to strengthened systems for ensuring quality of ongoing monitoring activities. The NCHP participants left the training with an understanding of how to design data forms, analyze and collect data electronically as well as to create summary reports with graphs and tables. The post-training evaluation results showed that the participants felt strongly that the training was both relevant and useful to their work and will help in strengthening NCHP’s monitoring systems going forward.

“PHB’s support in leading the training is so appreciated… now NCHP will know how to manage the data… hopefully the NCHP will be the leading government agency in data mangement,” said Dr. Bunna Heng, Chief Officer of Environment Health and Hygiene Unit, NCHP.

NCHP plays an important role in SBC efforts in Cambodia. NCHP is applying their gained knowledge from the training to design the Provider Behavior Change Intervention (PBCI) form for collecting data from client sites. This tool will help NCHP analyze client perceptions on healthcare provider behaviors, an indicator which NCHP reports to the Ministry of Health (MoH) on an annual basis. PHB will continue to work with NCHP to build their capacity in data management and will provide on-going support through refresher trainings.