The Five Phases of the Public Health Surveillance Process · 1.Institutions that carry out public health surveillance use databases and automated electronic notification systems that effectively track, monitor and collect data related to specific diseases. Some examples of diseases that are being monitored are the flu, COVID-19 and its variants, HIV, AIDS and whooping cough. Public health surveillance is the systematic and continuous collection, analysis and interpretation of health-related data, including the use of a Remote Surveillance Trailer in Port Hueneme CA. To be effective, the system must meet the following 10 key attributes. The goal of any public health surveillance system is to strongly represent each attribute.
If this is achieved, it means that the system has the greatest chance of providing useful, accurate, and actionable data. However, one or two poor attributes can hamper the entire system. For example, a system that is solid in all 10 attributes, except for stability, will have long periods of interruption due to failures and other errors. In turn, the image created by the data will be fragmented.
When responding to these types of inquiries, the process, methods, and objectives of data collection are defined. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) maintains an internationally notifiable list of diseases, which serves as a guide for data collection efforts. This list includes, but is not limited to, smallpox, polio, and new subtypes and influenza. Once it has been clearly determined how the data will be captured, how it will be used and other related factors, the next step in the public health surveillance process concerns the analysis of the data.
For the second phase of the process to move forward, the first stage of data collection must have been effective. Otherwise, the data is not worth analyzing. Assuming that the data captured is valid and sufficient, the data analysis phase addresses the following. Data interpretation is closely related to data analysis. By identifying people affected by public health threats and the place and time when a threat occurred, it can be more easily determined how and why a public health event occurred in the first place.
The data dissemination phase basically defines how information will be distributed to those who need it. Since the public has every right to know about threats to public health, the data dissemination phase is generally aimed at a wide audience, including people who are at direct risk and those who may potentially be at risk. As seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, the most recent data was distributed across the country. According to Accenture, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed significant gaps in the public health surveillance system and its methods. This has motivated CDC to redouble its efforts to make the surveillance process more reliable in terms of connectivity, more resilient to interruptions, and more adaptable and ready to respond.
Given the enormous amount of sensitive health data that CDC, WHO and other public health-related organizations are reporting and collecting, some may wonder what are the legal and ethical considerations of surveillance initiatives. Article 12 of the 12 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States states: “Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people. Public health surveillance, while complex, is essential for providing reliable and critical information related to diseases and viruses to appropriate parties. What the CDC and the World Health Organization do with this public health information ultimately serves to create a response to problems such as COVID-19, HIV and other major public health threats. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health 101 Series, Introduction to Public Health Surveillance.
Key measures to implement the IDSR strategy include sensitizing key health authorities and stakeholders; conducting a situation analysis; preparing a strategic IDSR plan; identifying and training a motivated and competent workforce; developing national technical guidelines for the IDSR; implementing the plan; and monitoring and evaluating implementation to improve performance (WHO 2000b). The evaluation of existing national surveillance and response activities provides baseline data to measure progress; identify and build consensus on national priority communicable diseases; identify surveillance gaps for selected priority diseases; document the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of existing systems; and make appropriate recommendations. The WHO Regional Office for Africa, in collaboration with its partners, has prepared tools and guidelines for the implementation of IDSR at the national level. Indicators for monitoring the performance of monitoring and response systems have been prepared and tested in the field and are now being used in Africa.
The WHO phased approach (STEPS) to surveillance is part of the WHO global initiative for surveillance of risk factors for non-communicable diseases. It was developed in response to the growing need for information on trends in non-communicable diseases at the national level. It is a simple, standardized method for collecting, analyzing and disseminate data. The approach uses a standard survey instrument and methodology that can be adapted to countries' different resource environments and helps build countries' capacity.
By using the same standardized questions and protocols, all countries can use STEPS information not only to monitor trends within countries, but also to make comparisons between countries. The approach encourages the collection of small amounts of useful information on a regular and continuous basis (. Surveillance, monitoring and evaluation of non-communicable diseases are tools that capture countries' performance and improve capacities to control non-communicable diseases transferable. Adequate surveillance systems for non-communicable diseases allow for the early identification of both people at high risk and of non-communicable diseases that can be more easily treated with low-cost treatments, combined with other public health measures, than if detected later.
The treatment of non-communicable diseases and their sequelae is costly, so the prevention of non-communicable diseases is a key strategy. The prevention and control of non-communicable diseases require surveillance of associated risk factors (smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol) and the adoption of measures to promote desired changes and the reduction of risks. Therefore, investing in surveillance of non-communicable diseases is more cost-effective (although it requires funding systems, creating the necessary resources in addition to building capacity), compared to bearing the costly impact of non-communicable diseases, as well as the treatments and control associated with them. This information helps countries to formulate their national strategies and plans, focusing efforts on areas that require the most attention.
Surveillance costs include investment in human resources and infrastructure. Standardized protocols are available to produce comparable and changing data over time to monitor risk factors and the policies being implemented. The use of standardized questions, such as questions about tobacco for surveys, is a cost-effective measure and can be integrated into existing population surveys or censuses. In addition, partnerships with national statistical offices or universities, research institutions and universities can expand surveillance capacity.
The audit of the monitoring program is a crucial element that must be considered during the monitoring implementation phase. Once a manager decides to create a surveillance system, there are six steps to setting up the system. The planning and implementation stages of monitoring the surveillance process have as their main objective to develop a strategic plan that frames the production of specific knowledge in accordance with the formulation stage of the problem. Within individual countries, surveillance systems are essential for measuring the burden of diseases and injuries as a first step in establishing public health priorities that lead to policies and programs. Monitoring planning must be consistent with the objectives and frameworks previously defined during the problem formulation phase.
The WHO phased approach to NCD risk factor surveillance (STEPS) is a simple, standardized method for collecting, analyzing and disseminating data on the main risk factors for NCDs in countries.
