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Role of continuous monitoring on performance of surveillance systems in military populations in resource-limited settings

Description

Timeliness of information has a key role in disease reporting, and may be easily impaired by several factors affecting data entry and utilization.1 Regarding data entry, previous studies have shown that monitoring strategies, such as telephone reminders and supervision visits ensure reporting timeliness.2 Likewise, limited reporting infrastructure may prevent adequate reporting and effective data utilization.3,4 The Peruvian Air Force, in collaboration with the US Naval Medical Research Center Detachment in Lima, Peru, implemented in 2009 an electronic disease surveillance system with the objective of establishing near real-time baseline estimates of disease trends, and detecting disease outbreaks in a timely manner. This system has proven to perform well, although reporting sites vary in their reporting infrastructure. Therefore, we attempted to test the effect of a lack of monitoring on the performance of reporting sites, and explore the influence of other factors potentially affecting timeliness.

Objective

The objective of this paper is to describe the effect of close monitoring on performance of the electronic disease surveillance system of the Peru Air Force.

Submitted by Magou on