The UDSM DHIS2 Lab (comprising a co-working space and experts) operating under the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Dar es Salaam has been actively involved in collaborative research and innovation in digital health and health information systems for over 20 years. In close partnership with the University of Oslo-HISP Centre, the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, and other stakeholders, the lab has played a crucial role in implementing Tanzania’s National integrated DHIS2 health data ecosystem in Tanzania. In recognition of its digital health innovation capabilities and contribution to the global DHIS2 community over the years, the UDSM DHIS2 node was recognized by the UiO HISP Centre as the first DHIS2 innovation lab across the HISP Network during the DHIS2 annual conference in 2022. The lab has actively engaged with local and global DHIS2 communities, providing technical expertise and conducting research supporting DHIS2 implementations. The Lab has also undertaken collaborative projects in various areas, including the research and innovation of the EMR at the UDSM Hospital digital health living lab, eIDSR, community health information systems, and human resources for health information systems in Tanzania. Recently, innovations have been made possible due to a digital health living lab offered by the Government of Tanzania at the University of Dar es Salaam Hospital.
The integrated DHIS2 lab and the Digital Health Living Lab based at UDSM Hospital’s working environment offer a sustainable and real-life environment to ideate, develop, use, and evaluate digital health solutions addressing the health system’s existing standards, emerging needs, and multiple stakeholders. This ecosystem has enabled the development of Laboratory information systems used at the National Public Health Laboratory and the interoperability Adapter, a breakthrough solution for vendor-based EMRs, and the DHIS2 integration.
| It comprises of team members with varying expertise and experience |
| Full-time technical analysts, designers, and system developers. |
| They are involved in software development and innovation |
| Analysts and implementers involve faculty members. |
| Work on community use cases and challenges to develop contextual solutions using DHIS2 or OpenMRS technologies. |
| Work with members of the DHIS2 Club and postgraduate students to research and develop solutions in collaboration with hospital staff and faculty members. |
| They provide use cases for implementation |
| Define user stories and test scenarios for the selected use cases in collaboration with analysts and developers from UDSM DHIS2 Lab and DHIS2 Club. |
| Test and apply the developed solution in their workplace, and provide feedback and input to the technical team for improvement. |
| Identify the community’s health-care system challenges. |
| Through the Hackathon, participants can brainstorm and work on potential solutions. |
| Taking DHIS2 online courses to become acquainted with DHIS2 technology. |
| Utilizes the opportunities and mentorship from developers and faculty members to innovate digital solutions from societal problems. |
| Identify potential societal challenges and consult with UDSM DHIS2 Lab systems developers and postgraduate students about providing digital solutions. |
| Identify real-world problems in health and non-health domains with postgraduate students, then supervise them as they conduct research and develop scientific solutions to address them. |
| Provide scientific insights to systems development teams to ensure that the digital solutions developed contribute to both practice and science. |
| To collaborate with UDSM DHIS2 Lab ‘s stakeholders, practitioners, and developers to research, assess, co-develop, test, and evaluate digital solutions for real-world problems. |
| Plan and lead sessions for the preliminary dissemination of assessment information in order to obtain feedback and reach a consensus. |
| Providing Pre-Existing Platforms. |
| Collaborative Development and Innovation. |
| Sharing Knowledge and Expertise. |
| Testing and Feedback. |
| Dissemination and Adoption. |
| Contributing to Research. |
