ASSESSING MONITORING AND EVALUATION PRACTICES FOR DISABILITY-INCLUSIVE HEALTH SERVICES IN SELECTED HEALTH FACILITIES IN KAMPALA CITY
- Documents Reviewed
The review covered national, sectoral, and institutional documents, including:
- Uganda National Health Policy
- Health Sector Development Plan (HSDP)
- Ministry of Health (MoH) Monitoring and Evaluation Framework
- Uganda Disability Policy
- Persons with Disabilities Act, 2020
- WHO Guidelines on Disability-Inclusive Health Services
- Health Management Information System (HMIS) tools and reporting forms
- Facility annual reports and supervision reports
- NGO and development partner reports on disability and health
- Key Findings from the Document Review
3.1 Integration of Disability-Sensitive Indicators in M&E Systems
The review revealed that Uganda’s national health policies acknowledge the importance of equitable access to health services, including for persons with disabilities (PWDs). However, routine M&E systems, particularly HMIS tools used at facility level, have limited disaggregation of data by disability status. Most indicators focus on age, sex, and disease categories, with minimal consideration of functional limitations or disability types. Disability-related data is often captured only in specialized programs rather than across general health service delivery.
3.2 Structural and Procedural Gaps in Disability-Inclusive M&E
Several gaps were identified. Structurally, there is limited availability of standardized tools for collecting disability-disaggregated data at health facility level. Procedurally, health workers receive minimal training on disability-inclusive data collection and reporting. Supervision and reporting guidelines also lack clear directives on tracking disability inclusion. Additionally, facility reports rarely analyze service utilization trends among PWDs, limiting evidence-based decision-making.
3.3 Implications for Strengthening Disability-Inclusive M&E
The reviewed documents emphasize inclusive health service delivery but provide insufficient operational guidance on integrating disability into routine M&E. This gap undermines accountability and the ability of health facilities to monitor progress toward inclusive health goals. Strengthening disability-inclusive M&E requires policy-to-practice alignment, revision of HMIS tools, and capacity building at facility level.
MINUTES OF THE DOCUMENT REVIEW MEETING
Meeting Title: Document Review Meeting on Disability-Inclusive Monitoring and Evaluation Practices
Date: [Insert Date]
Time: [Insert Time]
Venue: [Insert Venue]
Chairperson: [Insert Name/Title]
Secretary: [Insert Name]
Attendance
- Principal Researcher
- Research Supervisor
- Health Systems Specialist
- Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
- Disability and Inclusion Expert
Agenda
- Opening and purpose of the meeting
- Review of key documents related to disability-inclusive M&E
- Discussion of findings in relation to study objectives
- Identification of gaps and implications for the study
- Way forward and closing
Proceedings
- Opening
The Chairperson opened the meeting and welcomed participants. The purpose of the meeting was explained as reviewing relevant documents to inform the study on monitoring and evaluation practices for disability-inclusive health services in selected health facilities in Kampala City.
- Review of Key Documents
Participants reviewed national health policies, disability legislation, HMIS tools, and international guidelines. Emphasis was placed on assessing how disability considerations are incorporated into routine M&E frameworks used by health facilities.
- Discussion of Findings by Research Objective
- Objective 1: Participants noted that disability-sensitive indicators are weakly integrated into routine M&E systems. Existing tools do not adequately capture disability-disaggregated data.
- Objective 2: The meeting identified gaps such as lack of standardized disability indicators, limited staff capacity, inadequate supervision on inclusion, and absence of clear reporting procedures.
- Objective 3: Participants proposed strengthening HMIS tools, training health workers on disability-inclusive M&E, and enhancing policy enforcement at facility level.
- Key Issues Raised
- Inadequate guidance on disability data collection
- Limited use of disability data for planning and decision-making
- Weak linkage between disability policy commitments and routine health facility reporting
- Way Forward
It was agreed that:
- Findings from the document review would inform the study’s conceptual framework
- Identified gaps would guide data collection tools and interview guides
- Recommendations would focus on practical, facility-level improvements
- Closing
The Chairperson thanked participants for their contributions and officially closed the meeting.
