Alvin Marcelo

The Evolution of a Community-based Child Injury Surveillance Project

abstract The development of the community-based health information systems is a constant challenge for any national health system wishing to implement information technology in healthcare. The challenge is further heightened by the high failure rate of 70 to 80 per cent in information systems projects. The development of a community-based child injury surveillance system in a local government unit in Metro Manila offers lessons that spurred the project proponents to alter the course of the systems development to a more favourable but challenging outcome, that of creating a system that responds to actual end-user needs and organizational requirements and creates value at the level of data collection. Two key communications technologies are used: Internet technologies (specifically the Web) and GSM short messaging system.