Engineering Management Research; Vol. 1, No. 2; 2012 ISSN 1927-7318 E-ISSN 1927-7326 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 146 Health Data Ownership and Data Quality: Clinics in the Nyandeni District, Eastern Cape, South Africa Graham Wright 1 & Anthony Odama 2 1 Facuty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa 2 Regional Training Centre, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa Correspondence: Graham Wright, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa. Tel: 27-718-537-370. E-mail: profwright@gmail.com Received: August 17, 2012 Accepted: October 8, 2012 Online Published: October 26, 2012 doi:10.5539/emr.v1n2p146 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/emr.v1n2p146 Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the type of relationship between data ownership and data quality at the primary health care facilities of the Nyandeni sub-district of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. Method: A data audit was conducted to assess the quality of clinical data at primary health facilities. Structured interviews and documentary analysis methods were used to determine whether clinicians at these health facilities were using collected secondary data for decision-making. Results: Of the five data quality attributes health facilities were audited on, only the timeliness of data reports was found to be satisfactory. Data quality was of a poor standard and there was no evidence to suggest data collected for secondary purposes was being used for decision-making by clinicians at the primary health facilities. Conclusion: The study highlights that to improve the quality of data; clinicians need to be involved in the measurement of the quality of care that they provide. This not only serves to improve the quality of service provided but also helps clinicians appreciate the value of their work and enhances the importance of collecting quality clinical data. Clinicians as data collectors are the best placed individuals to recommend a course of action based on data they receive and are also the best placed individuals to suggest whether better ways to measure results exist. Keywords: data collection, data quality, data ownership 1. Introducation Information forms a key resource in any health care institution, without information a health care institution would simply not function. Examples of information use within a health care institution can involve a simple verbal communication between a patient and a member of the medical staff, to the use of health data for the administrative running of a health institution. In the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, health information collected at health care facilities is sent to sub-district offices, from there it is sent to district then provincial offices. The provincial office in turn sends information to the national office and from there it is sent to international agencies like the World Health Organisation. In order to facilitate the movement of data through the various levels of health services, collected health data has to conform to a recognised standard. The Eastern Cape Province forms one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The Province is further divided into seven districts, each of which is further subdivided into sub-districts. In the Nyandeni sub-district of the Oliver Reginald Tambo district of the Eastern Cape Province standardisation in the primary health care setting comes in the form of a minimum dataset. The primary health care facilities collect secondary data, which is data, collected by someone other than the user. It is in the form of data elements specified in the minimum data set; these data elements are then used to calculate clinical indicators. Clinical indicators in turn serve largely as quantitative measures used to monitor and evaluate the quality of important governance, management, clinical and support functions that affect patient outcomes.