Abstract
BackgroundBecause both public health surveillance and action are crucial, the authors initiated meetings at regional and national levels to assess and reform surveillance and action systems. These meetings emphasized improved epidemic preparedness, epidemic response, and highlighted standardized assessment and reform.MethodsTo standardize assessments, the authors designed a conceptual framework for surveillance and action that categorized the framework into eight core and four support activities, measured with indicators.ResultsIn application, country-level reformers measure both the presence and performance of the six core activities comprising public health surveillance (detection, registration, reporting, confirmation, analyses, and feedback) and acute (epidemic-type) and planned (management-type) responses composing the two core activities of public health action. Four support activities – communications, supervision, training, and resource provision – enable these eight core processes. National, multiple systems can then be concurrently assessed at each level for effectiveness, technical efficiency, and cost.ConclusionsThis approach permits a cost analysis, highlights areas amenable to integration, and provides focused intervention. The final public health model becomes a district-focused, action-oriented integration of core and support activities with enhanced effectiveness, technical efficiency, and cost savings. This reform approach leads to sustained capacity development by an empowerment strategy defined as facilitated, process-oriented action steps transforming staff and the system.
Highlights
Because both public health surveillance and action are crucial, the authors initiated meetings at regional and national levels to assess and reform surveillance and action systems
The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa (WHO/ AFRO) has recently initiated the Integrated Disease Surveillance (IDS) project [5,6]. This effort uses the conceptual framework described in this report, which was effectively pilot tested and used to develop a 5-year plan of action (PoA) during the implementation of IDS in Tanzania ([7] and Nsubuga P, Eseko N, Wuhib T, Chungong S, Ndayimrije N, and McNabb SJN; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tanzanian Ministry of Health, and WHO; in press)
Public health surveillance was defined as the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of outcome-specific data for use in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice[17]
Summary
Because both public health surveillance and action are crucial, the authors initiated meetings at regional and national levels to assess and reform surveillance and action systems. Because public health surveillance and action are crucial to effective public health practice, the World Health Organization (WHO) has initiated consensus meetings at the regional and national level to review and reform surveillance and action systems [1,2,3,4]. BMC Public Health 2002, 2 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/2/2 phasized improved epidemic preparedness and epidemic response They highlight the need to facilitate and standardize surveillance and action assessments and to include integration strategies in the reform process. WHO/AFRO have adapted, further piloted, and subsequently adopted this framework for public health surveillance assessments (Phase I of IDS) in Africa
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