From data collection to action: environmental health information management practices in eleven municipalities in the east coast of South Africa.

BACKGROUND: The availability of reliable information in the delivery of environmental health services (EHS) is crucial to identifying environmental health threats in communities and deploying targeted interventions. This requires environmental health information management practices and systems to be evaluated from time-to-time to bring efficiency and enable continuous improvement for improved public health outcomes. As a result, this study assesses environmental health information management in municipalities that provide EHS in the east coast of South Africa. METHODS: A descriptive quantitative cross-sectional study design was employed, combining an online survey of 105 environmental health practitioners (EHPs) and document reviews across 11 municipalities. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted through IBM SPSS Statistics. RESULTS: Findings highlight over-reliance on paper-based data management processes, resulting to data duplication (88.6%) and increased workload (90.5%) for EHPs (p = 0.004). Inadequate training, lack of adequate digital tools (17.1%), inconsistent support (61.9%) and poor feedback (46.6%) impeded effective information utilisation for public health action. The study further underscored the need for improved quality assurance, feedback mechanisms and technical support. Governance, organisational capacity, limited digital infrastructure, and insufficient training emerged as key barriers. CONCLUSION: Substantial environmental health information management strengthening through digitalisation, improved governance, capacity-building, and stronger quality assurance systems are required. A comprehensive and integrated digital EHIS is needed to improve data quality, information utilisation, and evidence-based environmental health decision-making in South Africa.