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EMPHNET 6th Regional Conference 2018: "Innovative approaches: Adapting to the current EMR context" (111)
Enforcement of Functionality and Effectiveness of Event-Based Surveillance System (EBS), Egypt, April-September 2017

Enforcement of Functionality and Effectiveness of Event-Based Surveillance System (EBS), Egypt, April-September 2017

Enforcement of Functionality and Effectiveness of Event-Based Surveillance System (EBS), Egypt, April-September 2017

Authors of this article:

Fatma Osman ;   A Kandi ;   S Elrefaey ;   S Elshourbagy ;   H Abuelsoud ;   M Taha ;   A Gehad
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    Abstract

    Corresponding Author:

    Fatma Osman


    Background: To meet the requirements of International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR), initiation of EBS is essential to complement the Indicator Based Surveillance (IBS) and to boost early detection of potential Public health threats. In November 2015, the Ministry of Health (MoH) launched the EBS at the central level. The hot line in emergency room and active browsing for electronic media are the main sources of information.

    Objective: To enhance early detection and rapid response to potential public health threats and to improve the performance of the EBS team.

    Methods: At the end of June 2017, the reporting form, database and the standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of EBS were updated. EBS team received training for the system updates. Data from April to September was investigated for the source of information, signal filtration, verification, and timeliness of response. For the events that are routinely reported by IBS, early detection was checked for both systems. The results were compared three months before and after the training.

    Results: Out of 762 raw signals, 199 events were detected, from which 65% (130/199) events after June. Proportion of events captured by electronic media, health care workers and community were 75% (150/199), 20% (40/199) and 5% (9/199) respectively. Filtration of signals varied significantly from 14 % to 51% (P value < 0.0001). Verification improved from 78% to 86 % (P value= 0.154). Positive Predictive Value (PPV) significantly differed from 80% to 93% (P value = 0.012). Rapid response within 24 hours significantly improved from 53% to 88% (P value < 0.0001). Capability of EBS to capture events Preceding IBS improved from 27% (9/33) to 38% (32/85) (P value= 0.288).

    Conclusions: Increase EBS capacity for early detection of potential public health threats. Marked improvement of EBS team performance. Raise community awareness, expand the sources of information and shift to electronic database are highly recommended.

    iproc 2018;4(1):e10609

    doi:10.2196/10609


    Edited by Y Khader; This is a non–peer-reviewed article. submitted 29.03.18; accepted 29.03.18; published 29.03.18

    Copyright

    ©Fatma Osman, A Kandi, S Elrefaey, S Elshourbagy, H Abuelsoud, M Taha, A Gehad. Originally published in Iproceedings (http://www.iproc.org), 29.03.2018.

    This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in Iproceedings, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://www.iproc.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.