DHIS2 Public Health Reporting and Dashboard Design Training Course

Course overview

Public health programmes depend on timely, interpretable reporting from facilities, districts and national teams. Yet DHIS2 instances often contain duplicated data elements, inconsistent organisational-unit structures, incomplete datasets and dashboards that show activity without helping managers act. This course addresses the practical work of turning routine health data into reliable reporting products for immunisation, maternal health, surveillance, service delivery and programme performance reviews.

Participants learn how the DHIS2 data model supports aggregate reporting, from organisation units, data elements and category combinations to datasets, indicators, validation rules and reporting periods. They configure reporting metadata in a guided DHIS2 environment, calculate programme indicators, investigate data-quality exceptions and use DHIS2 Data Visualizer, pivot tables, charts and maps to create decision-focused outputs. The course also covers dashboard layout, user sharing, interpretation notes and governance controls that make reports usable beyond the central M&E team.

Teaching combines instructor demonstrations with structured configuration labs based on a public health reporting case. Participants work through the reporting requirements for a selected programme, build a small but functional metadata set, and test outputs against realistic management questions. By the end of the week, each participant leaves with a documented reporting blueprint and dashboard prototype, plus an implementation checklist that can be adapted to their organisation's DHIS2 instance. A certificate is issued on successful completion.

The course is suited to health information, monitoring and evaluation, programme and digital-health professionals who need to design, improve or govern DHIS2 reporting rather than merely enter data into the platform.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Configure organisation units, data elements, category combinations and datasets for an aggregate public health reporting workflow
• Define DHIS2 indicators using numerators, denominators, annualisation and programmatically appropriate indicator types
• Build data-entry forms and dataset sections that support complete, consistent facility reporting
• Create validation rules and outlier review steps to identify missing, implausible and internally inconsistent values
• Generate pivot tables, charts and maps in DHIS2 Data Visualizer for defined programme management questions
• Design a role-based DHIS2 dashboard with meaningful visualisations, interpretation text and appropriate sharing settings
• Apply the WHO Data Quality Review Toolkit approach to assess data completeness, timeliness and internal consistency
• Produce a DHIS2 reporting blueprint and dashboard prototype for a priority public health programme

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Health Information System Officers — who configure and maintain routine reporting structures in DHIS2
• Monitoring and Evaluation Officers — who must turn service-delivery data into credible indicators and management reports
• DHIS2 Administrators — who need stronger reporting, metadata and dashboard design capability
• Public Health Programme Managers — who require dashboards that support district and facility performance reviews
• Digital Health Project Officers — who translate programme requirements into DHIS2 reporting configurations
• District Health Information Officers — who review facility submissions and resolve local data-quality issues

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic public health reporting concepts, including indicators, numerators, denominators, reporting periods and facility-level data collection. Experience using a web browser, spreadsheets and routine health reports is expected. Familiarity with an existing DHIS2 instance is helpful but not essential; the course starts with the DHIS2 aggregate data model before moving into configuration and analytics. Participants do not need programming, SQL, database administration or prior dashboard-design experience. Complete beginners to DHIS2 should expect a practical foundation first, followed by progressively more detailed configuration and reporting exercises.

Training methodology

The course uses an instructor-led DHIS2 training environment and a continuing public health programme case across all five days. Short demonstrations introduce each feature, followed by individual configuration labs covering metadata, datasets, indicators, validation rules and analytics. Participants compare design choices in small groups, review sample facility submissions and diagnose data-quality problems using realistic scenarios. Dashboard workshops require participants to justify each visualisation against a management question. The final session converts the prototype into a practical implementation plan, including ownership, testing and review cycles.

Course outline

Day 1: DHIS2 reporting foundations and public health data models

• DHIS2 architecture for aggregate routine health information reporting
• Organisation-unit hierarchies, facility ownership and reporting responsibility
• Data elements, data types and public health indicator source data
• Category combinations, disaggregation and demographic breakdowns
• Reporting periods, frequency choices and data-collection calendars
• Datasets, data-entry forms and dataset section design
• Metadata naming conventions and reporting requirement traceability

Workshop: Participants convert a maternal and child health reporting requirement into a draft DHIS2 metadata map covering organisation units, data elements, disaggregations and datasets.

Day 2: Indicator design and reliable routine data capture

• Indicator reference sheets and DHIS2 indicator configuration fields
• Numerators, denominators, factor values and annualised indicators
• Indicator types for percentages, rates, coverage and counts
• Data-entry form layout and section sequencing for facility workflows
• Compulsory data elements and completeness-oriented form design
• Validation rules for arithmetic, logical and cross-form checks
• Data approval workflows and responsible reporting roles

Workshop: Participants configure a small immunisation reporting dataset, create indicator formulas and test validation rules against sample facility submissions.

Day 3: Data quality analysis and reporting governance

• Completeness and timeliness analysis in routine health reporting
• Internal consistency checks using the WHO Data Quality Review Toolkit
• Outlier detection and interpretation of unexpected trends
• DHIS2 data-quality application and validation-result review
• Data correction workflows, audit considerations and escalation routes
• Metadata maintenance, change control and version documentation
• Data-use meeting routines for facility, district and programme teams

Workshop: Participants conduct a data-quality review of a district reporting extract and produce a prioritised exception log with follow-up actions.

Day 4: DHIS2 analytics and dashboard construction

• Analytic dimensions, filters and relative reporting periods
• Pivot table design for facility and district performance comparison
• Chart selection for trends, coverage gaps and target tracking
• Map layers and thematic mapping for geographic performance review
• DHIS2 Data Visualizer favourites and reusable analytic outputs
• Dashboard layout, text tiles and interpretation guidance
• User groups, sharing settings and dashboard access controls

Workshop: Participants build a role-based district performance dashboard containing a pivot table, trend chart, map and action-oriented interpretation notes.

Day 5: Reporting implementation and dashboard review

• Translating management questions into dashboard requirements
• Dashboard usability review for programme managers and district users
• Testing indicators and visualisations against source-data scenarios
• Dashboard refresh cycles and reporting calendar alignment
• User acceptance testing and issue-log management
• Training, support and dashboard ownership arrangements
• Implementation roadmaps for DHIS2 reporting improvements

Workshop: Participants present their reporting blueprint and dashboard prototype, receive peer review, and complete a 90-day implementation plan for their workplace.

Tools & standards covered

DHIS2, DHIS2 Data Visualizer, DHIS2 Pivot Tables, WHO Data Quality Review Toolkit

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions