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Open Access Short EpiData course: do participants use the data entry tool two years post-training?

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Setting: Training courses on data entry are few and far between compared to analysis. To address this gap, we conducted a short 2-day course on quality-assured data capture using EpiData for public health professionals in Bangalore and Puducherry, India, in 2013.

Objective: To determine the proportion of participants who used EpiData and taught the software to others during the 2-years after training and explore the reasons for doing/not doing so.

Design: Cross-sectional study with self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire developed using web-based Google Forms. We performed a manual thematic analysis to identify the major reasons for using/not using EpiData.

Results: Of 46 participants, 38 (83%) responded. Of 31 participants involved in research, 17 (55%) had used EpiData, of whom 6 (35%) had performed double entry and validation. Of the 14 who did not use EpiData, 11 had used MS Excel or SPSS/Epi Info for data entry. Of the 38 respondents, 29 (76%) had taught EpiData to other colleagues and students. Reasons for using EpiData included its user-friendliness, its being open access and the ease in preventing data entry errors. Reasons for not performing double entry included lack of time and manpower.

Conclusion: The short course on EpiData was effective in knowledge transfer and provides a scalable model for incorporation into the teaching curricula of medical schools and research institutions.

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), South-East Asia Office, New Delhi, India 2: Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India 3: The Union, Paris, France, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK

Publication date: 21 December 2015

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  • Public Health Action (PHA), The Union's quarterly Open Access journal, welcomes the submission of articles on operational research. It publishes high-quality scientific research on health services, providing new knowledge on how to improve access, equity, quality and efficiency of health systems and services.

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