DHIS2 supports individual-level (or case-based) transactional data through Tracker and Event programs, allowing you to do data collection, case monitoring and follow-up, analysis and reporting — all within your DHIS2 system.
DHIS2 was originally designed in the 1990s as a tool for collecting and analyzing aggregated health information—such as tallies or counts of services provided or cases reported per week or month. While this information is very useful for statistical analysis of health trends and informing programmatic decision making, it is not granular enough to do more detailed analysis, and does not allow for tracking and monitoring individuals (such as a single patient) over time. To fill this gap, DHIS2 was expanded to support individual-level data through Event and Tracker programs.
Event programs collect data on individual events that can be entered at any point in time (not on a fixed reporting period) but that are not tracked longitudinally. Some examples of event data include survey data, anonymous disease case reporting (such as in event-based surveillance), or a facility needs assessment.
Tracker programs also collect individual-level data, but unlike Event programs, Tracker data is associated with unique entity (such as a person) that is tracked over time. For example, you could use a Tracker program to follow a child through their immunization schedule by entering their details and identifying which vaccines they have received during each individual visit. In the Health context, this is similar to how an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system functions, but more lightweight, as Tracker programs are generally used to track only certain programs or events that are pre-defined, and not necessarily all services provided to an individual patient. Tracker programs are not limited to tracking patients however. They can also be used in the Education sector to monitor students and teachers, or to track non-human objects such as medical commodities and cold chain equipment in the Logistics sector.
Event and Tracker programs both leverage the core technology of DHIS2. Data for these programs is collected through a web browser using the DHIS2 Capture app, one of DHIS2’s core web applications, or on mobile devices with the DHIS2 Android Capture app. These programs shares the same design concepts as DHIS2 as a whole: a combination of a generic data model and flexible metadata configuration for rapid customization to meet a wide range of use cases.
Event and Tracker data can be aggregated within DHIS2 to support national and international reporting requirements, and allows you to take full advantage of the built-in suite of DHIS2 tools for data analysis and visualization, such as tables, charts, maps, and dashboards, allowing for real-time monitoring at the national level. The Capture app also include tools to support enhanced patient-centered workflows at the facility or community level, such as SMS reminders and appointment schedules, and can be integrated with other systems such as EMRs through interoperability standards like FHIR.
On this page you can find an overview of some of the key DHIS2 features for Event and Tracker programs. To learn more about how these programs are being used worldwide to make an impact on programs in the health sector and beyond, visit our Tracker In Action page.
Capture data at the lowest level: Tracker programs allow you to define the individual entity you want to collect data on through user-configured attributes — including image files — and also to establish the program rules (skip logic, constraints, decision support, etc.) to guide the data entry process. A search for existing / duplicate records is integrated into the registration process to prevent double entry. Individual records can be registered for longitudinal tracking, or entered as non-tracked records (Events).
Faster and more complete data:Â Using Tracker and Event programs allows for data capture at lower levels of the health system (or other organization), closer to the individual/patient level. This reduces data entry bottlenecks, minimizes potential aggregation errors, and allows for more granular disaggregation.
Aligned with WHO standards: DHIS2 has partnered with WHO to produce the DHIS2 Health Data Toolkit that makes it easy to align national implementations of key case-based health programs — such as HIV, TB, Malaria, maternal and child health, and more — with global WHO standards, while remaining fully customizable to meet local demands.
Fully adaptable and customizable: Choose to adapt an existing DHIS2 metadata package to align with national or project requirements, or create a program from scratch using a configurable interface that does not require programming skills. Define your own case-based programs — including for non-health domains like Education — and decide what data to collect at each stage, and use program rules to simplify data entry forms.
Data entry on mobile devices: The DHIS2 Android Capture App fully supports Tracker programs on the small screen, including relationships, indicators, program rules and notes, allowing for user-friendly mobile capture of case-based data, wherever you are. The app works in both online and offline modes, and automatically syncs when internet is available.
Integrated search: Before adding a new tracked entity, the app automatically conducts a search for existing matches to reduce potential duplication — in both online and offline modes.
View Tracked entities and events on a map: Using the DHIS2 Maps app, one of DHIS2’s built-in analytics tools, allows you to view cases by Tracker program on a map to help monitors trends and targets — such as disease outbreaks or immunization rates — based on geographical area. You can zoom in on the map to view cases at the individual level, and use contact-tracing analytics to visualize connections between tracked entities.
GPS coordinates and polygons:Â DHIS2 allows users to capture not only GPS coordinates but also polygons by drawing directly on their map, which is useful for defining specific geographical areas related to a given program or intervention, such as focus areas for disease elimination programs.
Eliminate duplicate data entry:Â When using Tracker and Event programs, all data collected at the individual level can be automatically aggregated based on pre-defined parameters. This allows programs to fulfill aggregate reporting requirements without collecting and entering data a second time in aggregate format.
Visualize and analyze:Â Aggregated Tracker and Event data can be easily views and analyzed within DHIS2 using built-in tools such as dashboards, tables, charts, graphs, and maps. You can also export your data to an analytics platform of your choice.
Easy appointment scheduling:Â Create longitudinal programs with multiple stages, which can correspond to patient appointments or other kinds of follow-up, which can be easily scheduled within the Capture app. These stages can follow a defined order, and some may be repeated indefinitely until a given outcome is reached.
Better patient outcomes: Improve retention by using Tracker to schedule visits, ​track missed appointments, and more. Tracker can be configured to send automated SMS messages to patients for appointment reminders, notification of test results, and other kinds of program-related information that can increase their engagement and participation.
Control access with sharing settings:Â DHIS2 contains granular sharing settings that allow system administrators to define which organizational levels, groups, and individual users can access specific kinds of data stored within a Tracker or Event program.
Full local ownership of data: Hosting for each DHIS2 instance is handled by the owner organization — for example, a national Ministry of Health — who can define their own parameters for data storage in accordance with local laws and privacy concerns. Whether hosted locally or in the cloud, no outside entity — including DHIS2 software developers — can access patient data unless that access is specifically granted by the owner of the database.
National-level platform:Â Tracker and Event programs are currently in use in more than 75 countries, including in national-level health programs for combating diseases like Malaria, TB, and HIV, supporting Disease Surveillance programs, providing maternal and child health services, and more. This amounts to hundreds of millions of individual data records around the world.
Rapidly deployable and expandable:Â In countries and organizations that already use DHIS2 for aggregate data, Tracker and Event programs can be implemented rapidly to add individual-level data without the need for an additional software platform. For those new to DHIS2, our Tracker documentation provides guidance on how to plan and implement Tracker programs, including how to optimize DHIS2 configuration for large-scale programs.
Open Source: DHIS2 is fully open-source. The code is available on Github, and the development roadmap and list of known bugs can be accessed on Jira. Our international community of administrators, developers, and implementers contributes to the development process by sharing bug reports and feature requests.
Localization: The DHIS2 interface is already available in multiple languages, and additional languages can be added upon request through our open translation portal. National teams can complete new translations themselves for metadata for their own Tracker and Event programs, or request support from the DHIS2 community.
Documentation:Â The DHIS2 Tracker team has prepared comprehensive guidance for deploying Tracker programs as part of a DHIS2 implementation, including best practices and lessons learned from real-world use cases. Read the Tracker Implementation Guide or browse all guidance on the DHIS2 documentation site.
DHIS2 Community: A global network of DHIS2 experts are take part in the development and deployment of Tracker and Event programs and related DHIS2 features by posting and answering technical questions, sharing user stories, and providing valuable feedback from the field. You can join the discussion on the DHIS2 Community of Practice.
Proper planning, configuration and use of Event and Tracker programs is essential for effective management of case-based programs using DHIS2. We offer free, self-paced training courses that can help you develop skills to configure and use Event programs through the DHIS2 Online Academy:
You can learn more about Tracker through our series of in-person training courses in the DHIS2 Academy.
