Abstract
Organisational factors play a key role in the quality of data in Routine Health Information Systems (RHIS), especially in low- and middle-income countries. In Nigeria, recurring problems including poor governance, supervision, and a lack of information-use culture, impact data quality. This research assessed the impact of organisational factors on data quality of RHIS in Osun State, impacting health service delivery at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of care. In a cross-sectional study, 317 health workers were surveyed from 22 public health facilities in Osun State using multistage sampling. A questionnaire and a checklist based on the Performance of Routine Information System Management (PRISM) framework were used for data collection. The questionnaire and checklist were valid and reliable (alpha = 0.790). Data were summarised using descriptive statistics to report on organisational practices and RHIS data quality dimensions, and multiple regression (SPSS version 30.0) analysed the impact of organisational factors on data quality. Organisational and managerial practices were overall positive (mean = 54.57 ± 8.15), with the majority of respondents stating they had supportive supervision (86.2%), regular feedback (85.2%) and emphasised data completeness and timeliness. Most facilities had management structures (73.9%), RHIS standards (91.3%) and supervision (>87%). But there were shortcomings in the visibility of RHIS mission statements (30.4%) and use of performance improvement tools (43.5%), suggesting poor institutionalisation of continuous quality improvement processes. RHIS data quality was adequate in terms of completeness (8.78 ± 2.0), timeliness (9.11 ± 1.7) and reliability (13.04 ± 3.2), but inaccurate in terms of accuracy, with only 21.7% of facilities reporting accurate data, and inconsistencies between source registers and summary reports. Primary health facilities had the highest overall levels of data quality (43.59 ± 5.78) despite having less sophisticated organisational structures than tertiary facilities, revealing the importance of service delivery settings where most rural people can access care. Organisation was found to positively influence the quality of RHIS (β = 0.203, t = 3.529, p < 0.05) and account for 4.1% of the variance (R² = 0.041) in regression analysis. While Osun State has relatively well-developed organisational structures to support RHIS, weak continuous quality improvement, staff training and performance monitoring affect the quality of RHIS data. The system is still compliance-focused rather than learning-focused and its impact on evidence-based decision-making, especially at primary healthcare level in rural areas.