SUMMARY
Introduction: Effective public health surveillance system is crucial for early detection and response to disease outbreaks. In 1998, Kenya adopted the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy to strengthen disease surveillance and epidemic response. Despite that, goals of complete and timely weekly, monthly and quarterly surveillance reports from health facilities have not been achieved. In this study, we evaluated the outcomes of training healthcare workers on IDSR and implementation of electronic disease surveillance reporting system in Kwale County.
Methods: We followed the completeness and timeliness of weekly, monthly and quarterly reporting from 123 health facilities in Kwale County. We compared these two surveillance indicators one month before electronic system implementation and then in period of one, three and six months after the electronic reporting system implementation.
Results: Significant improvement in completeness and timeliness rate in weekly and monthly reporting was found out one month after the intervention by training activities and implementation of electronic reporting system. Significant differences were also found 3 months after the implementing electronic reporting system. When we compared completeness and timeliness rate 6 months after the electronic system implementation, we observed a decrease in both surveillance indicators and rate of reporting was almost similar to the period before intervention when disease reporting was conducted by regular paper-based form.
Conclusion: The expected outcome of the communicable disease surveillance reporting system- to increase the rate of completeness and timeliness reporting on weekly, monthly and quarterly basis and improving quality of surveillance in general was
achieved.
Key words: communicable diseases reporting, surveillance, IDSR strategy, completeness, timeliness, Kenya.
Lek Obz, 2020, 69 (11): 398-403
Denisa JAKUBCOVÁ 1, Zuzana KRÁĽOVÁ 1, Victor OTIENO OKECH 2, Adriana ONDRUŠOVÁ 3
1 Trnava University, Faculty of Health Care and Social Work, Trnava, Slovak Republic
2 Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Education, Department of Social Work, Slovak Republic
3 Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín, Faculty of Healthcare, Slovak Republic
Denisa JAKUBCOVÁ, Zuzana KRÁĽOVÁ, Victor OTIENO OKECH, Adriana ONDRUŠOVÁ: Timeliness and completeness evaluation of communicable disease surveillance in the coastal region of Kenya after electronic reporting system implementation. Lek Obz, 2020, 69 (11): 398-403
