Health Policy Issues and Health Programmes in ... - Amazon S3

Use of Epidemiological Surveillance Data for Programme ManagementInformation SystemsInformation systems are large databases collected for general, rather than disease-specific,purposes that can also be applied to the surveillance of a specific condition. In some instances,their use for monitoring health may be secondary to other objectives.Sentinel EventsThe occurrence of a rare disease, known to be associated with a specific exposure, can alerthealth officers to situations through which others may have been exposed to potential hazards.Such occurrences have been termed “sentinel events” because they are harbingers of broaderpublic health problems; surveillance for sentinel events can be used to identify situations wherepublic health investigation or intervention is required.Record LinkagesRecords from different sources may be linked to extend their usefulness for surveillance, forexample, linkages of birth with infant death certificates are used to monitor birth-rate-specificneonatal mortality rates.Attributes of Epidemiological SurveillanceSurveillance systems can be judged using a list of attributes. This list can be used to evaluate anexisting system or to conceptualize a proposed system.1. Sensitivity – To what extent does the system identify all of the events in the targetpopulation?2. Timeliness – This attribute refers to the entire cycle of information flow, ranging frominformation collection to dissemination. Is the information loop completed in a specifiedtime frame?3. Representativeness – To what extent do events detected through the surveillance systemrepresent persons with the condition of interest in the target population?4. Predictive Value – To what extent are reported cases really cases?5. Accuracy and Completeness of Descriptive Information – To what extent is the descriptiveinformation on the forms completed? Is the information sufficiently reliable?6. Simplicity – Are the forms easy to complete?7. Flexibility – Can the system change to address new questions?8. Acceptability – Does the effort invested yield useful information?Application of Epidemiological Surveillance Data in ProgrammeManagementPlanning PhaselllThe use of surveillance data provides basic information on the magnitude and extent ofhealth problems.Information on the demographic characteristics of individuals with health problems permitsidentification of groups at the highest risk of disease.Surveillance data also helps in selecting from alternative strategies with the ultimate goal ofprudently allocating scarce health care resources.52