Case study of Argus in Togo: An SMS and web-based application to support public health surveillance, results from 2016 to 2019.

José Guerra,Fatoumata Binta Tidiane Diallo,Florentina Chipuila Rafael,Lucile Imboua,Aklagba Kuawo Kuassi,Farihétou Ouro-Kavalah,Nassirou Ouro-Nile,Hamadi Assane,Ganiou Tchaniley,Pierre Nabeth,Tsidi Agbeko Tamekloe,Kokou Mawule Davi

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0243131

José Guerra, Fatoumata Binta Tidiane Diallo + Show 10 more

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Argus is an open source electronic solution to facilitate the reporting and management of public health surveillance data. Its components include an Android-phone application, used by healthcare facilities to report results via SMS; and a central server located at the Ministry of Health, displaying aggregated results on a web platform for intermediate and central levels. This study describes the results of the use of Argus in two regions of Togo. Argus was used in 148 healthcare facilities from May 2016 to July 2018, expanding to 185 healthcare facilities from July 2018. Data from week 21 of 2016 to week 12 of 2019 was extracted from the Argus database and analysed. An assessment mission took place in August 2016 to collect users' satisfaction, to estimate the concordance of the received data with the collected data, and to estimate the time required to report data with Argus. Overall completeness of data reporting was 76%, with 80% of reports from a given week being received before Tuesday 9PM. Concordance of data received from Argus and standard paper forms was 99.7%. Median time needed to send a report using Argus was 4 minutes. Overall completeness of data review at district, regional, and central levels were 89%, 68%, and 35% respectively. Implementation cost of Argus was 23 760 USD for 148 facilities. The use of Argus in Togo enabled healthcare facilities to send weekly reports and alerts through SMS in a user-friendly, reliable and timely manner. Reengagement of surveillance officers at all levels, especially at the central level, enabled a dramatic increase in completeness and timeliness of data report and data review.

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Argus is an open source electronic solution to facilitate the reporting and management of public health surveillance data
Overall completeness of data reporting was 76%, with 80% of reports from a given week being received before Tuesday 9PM
Since 1998, the World Health Organization (WHO) has advocated for the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) approach for public health surveillance in the WHO African region [2, 3] with specific roles defined at each level of the surveillance system

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Argus was used in 148 healthcare facilities from May 2016 to July 2018, expanding to 185 healthcare facilities from July 2018. Data from week 21 of 2016 to week 12 of 2019 was extracted from the Argus database and analysed. An assessment mission took place in August 2016 to collect users’ satisfaction, to estimate the concordance of the received data with the collected data, and to estimate the time required to report data with Argus. Argus was released with a GNU AGPL3 license. Argus was implemented in two regions of Togo (Lome Commune and Savanes) in May 2016 to assess its usefulness in improving public health surveillance. Lome Commune is the urban region capital of the country, located in the south. The other region, Savanes, is the northernmost region of the country, consisting mainly of rural and hard-to-reach areas

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