Technical Guidelines for Integrated Disease Surveillance ... - PHRplus

6.0 Provide FeedbackData are reported routinely from the lower to the higher levels of the health care system:Community Sub-district District Region National.Analysed data and feedback are not, however, sent regularly to lower levels. Moreover, information is notshared amongst surveillance participants at the same level. If these staff do not receive information that showshow the data they reported were used or what the data meant, they may think that their reporting is not important.This may result in their being less motivated to collect and report reliable data.In other words, feedback reinforces health staff’s participation in the surveillance system. It also raisesawareness about certain diseases and any achievements of disease control and prevention activities in the area.There is therefore the need to institute regular and timely feedback to all levels of the health delivery system.When the district or regional health management teams or National Surveillance Unit receive and analyse data,they should promptly disseminate results to the entities that provided the data. Feedback may be oral, as in atelephone call or staff meeting, or written as in a report or bulletin.This section focuses on district-level feedback, but the principles can also be applied in health facilities, andat the regional and national levels.6.1 Verbal feedbackVerbal feedback from the district to the health facility can take place in various venues:Supervisory visits, telephone callsMeetings: weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annuallyCommunity durbarsDuring the visit or meeting, give a verbal report or comment about the data that were reported by the healthfacility during a given period of time. Display the data in a simple table. Sit with the health staff and show themthe data. Discuss the likely conclusions that can be drawn from the data. Consider conclusions not only for thehealth facility, but for the district as a whole.6.2 Written feedbackWritten feedback can take the following forms:Outbreak response reportInformation summary sheetPublic health bulletinNewsletters/briefing reportsFact sheets6.2.1 Outbreak response reportAfter an outbreak response has taken place, district staff who led the investigation should prepare a report(see Section 5.3). Use a copy of the report as feedback to the health facility that first reported the cases.66Technical Guidelines for Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response in Ghana