DRC uses six open source tools to manage its longitudinal data: OpenHDS, ODK Aggregate, ODK Collect, MySQL, Apache Tomcat, and Mirth Connect.
1. OpenHDS
OpenHDS is an open source platform for Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) to maintain . It is developed by University of Calabar, Nigeria; University of Southern Maine, US; and Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania.
DRC is using OpenHDS to maintain a continuous record of vital events that occur to a population in a fixed demographic surveillance area, generate up to date registration books, and compute basic demographic rates. DRC uses a mobile software component of OpenHDS to facilitate data collection in the field.
2. ODK Aggregate
ODK Aggregate is an open source software that stores, analyzes and presents electronic forms used for data collection using ODK Collect. DRC uses ODK Aggregate as a repository for electronic forms used in the data collection that can be synchronized to tablets, and as the recipient and storage for completed forms which are submitted from tablets.
3. ODK Collect
ODK Collect is also an open source Android application that helps to gather data using electronic forms. It supports a wide range of questions and answer types, and is designed to work well without network connectivity. It also accept answers from other applications such as OpenHDS.
4. MySQL
MySQL is an open-source relational database management system used to store and mange data. DRC uses MySQL to store its longitudinal data that are collected with the help of ODK Collect and OpenHDS systems.
5. Apache Tomcat
The Apache Tomcat is an open source implementation of the Java Servlet, JavaServer Pages, Java Expression Language and Java WebSocket technologies. DRC uses Apache Tomcat as a default implementation of the server interface for OpenHDS system.
6. Mirth Connect
Mirth Connect is an open source application that enables bi-directional sending of data between systems and applications over multiple transports. DRC uses Mirth Connect to transfer data into OpenHDS by making web service calls. This is used for
submitting data during the baseline and update rounds.
The following figure shows the diagrammatic representation of DRC data management system:
