Abstract
Background: Melioidosis is endemic in Sabah and surveillance program for melioidosis had been ongoing to determine the true burden of this disease in the state. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the melioidosis surveillance system to verify that the system reaches its objective and to provide recommendations for further improvement.
Methods: This study used a qualitative study design to assess the melioidosis surveillance program. A total of 9 respondents who were officers in charge of the melioidosis surveillance system at the Tuaran District Health Office, Health Clinics, and Sabah State Health Department were interviewed. Notified melioidosis data and laboratory results from year 2011 to 2021 were also used. This study evaluates the melioidosis surveillance system at Sabah State Health Department, Malaysia by comparing the indicators and attributes of surveillance to the Guideline for Clinical and Public Health Management of Melioidosis in Sabah.
Results: The study showed that the melioidosis reporting format was simple and easy to use, allowing the disease to be recorded and reported on time. Since the reporting was done manually, the system was flexible as the districts could add variables in the reporting formats. Regardless, it could not integrate with other disease notification systems, especially those reported through the electronic reporting formats. Healthcare workers in the health facilities and district health offices also did not send their reports regularly but only when cases or outbreaks occurred. Regardless, they were active and engaged in surveillance activities, accepting the usage of the reporting format that contains related epidemiological variables that assist in generating information for further preventive and control actions. The system was also stable, and any staff turnover would not affect the melioidosis surveillance system. Nevertheless, timely criteria could not be assessed as the date the report was sent and received was not recorded in most of the reports at the district health office level. There was also rarely any internal audit done on the system, and the completeness of data differed from facility to facility, and reporting completeness decreased as one goes from the district health office to the health clinics. Consequently, health centers ' annual average report completeness rate ranges from a minimum of 50 to 70%. Conclusion: Melioidosis surveillance system is simple, flexible, and acceptable, and the data collected represents the burden of the disease in Sabah. The overall implementation status is also good in achieving the intended goal of surveillance for public health action. Based on the evaluation, suggestions to improve melioidosis surveillance include the addition of melioidosis into the current eNotification system. Furthermore, regular data analysis, interpretation, and feedback dissemination are needed not just for healthcare workers but also for the broader public. Regular support supervision and epidemiological studies, as well as feedback systems, are also required to enhance and create a well-functioning surveillance system. Melioidosis cases and outbreaks will need to be handled quickly in the future, so more research is needed to improve melioidosis surveillance.
Links
- https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/APCPH2022-P-48.pdf
- https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/wpforms/1176-1e04940bb5d885bf8711ed1909[...]
BibTeX (Download)
@proceedings{APCPH2022-P-48,
title = {Evaluation Of Meliodosis Surveillance Program in Sabah},
author = {Hazeqa Salleh and Richard Avoi and Muhammad Jikal},
url = {https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/APCPH2022-P-48.pdf
https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/wpforms/1176-1e04940bb5d885bf8711ed19095a89ed/APCPH2022-P-48-b8c9e8834c3798e3410e62b37d856273.pdf},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-08-02},
urldate = {2022-08-02},
issue = {7},
abstract = {Background: Melioidosis is endemic in Sabah and surveillance program for melioidosis had been ongoing to determine the true burden of this disease in the state. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the melioidosis surveillance system to verify that the system reaches its objective and to provide recommendations for further improvement.
Methods: This study used a qualitative study design to assess the melioidosis surveillance program. A total of 9 respondents who were officers in charge of the melioidosis surveillance system at the Tuaran District Health Office, Health Clinics, and Sabah State Health Department were interviewed. Notified melioidosis data and laboratory results from year 2011 to 2021 were also used. This study evaluates the melioidosis surveillance system at Sabah State Health Department, Malaysia by comparing the indicators and attributes of surveillance to the Guideline for Clinical and Public Health Management of Melioidosis in Sabah.
Results: The study showed that the melioidosis reporting format was simple and easy to use, allowing the disease to be recorded and reported on time. Since the reporting was done manually, the system was flexible as the districts could add variables in the reporting formats. Regardless, it could not integrate with other disease notification systems, especially those reported through the electronic reporting formats. Healthcare workers in the health facilities and district health offices also did not send their reports regularly but only when cases or outbreaks occurred. Regardless, they were active and engaged in surveillance activities, accepting the usage of the reporting format that contains related epidemiological variables that assist in generating information for further preventive and control actions. The system was also stable, and any staff turnover would not affect the melioidosis surveillance system. Nevertheless, timely criteria could not be assessed as the date the report was sent and received was not recorded in most of the reports at the district health office level. There was also rarely any internal audit done on the system, and the completeness of data differed from facility to facility, and reporting completeness decreased as one goes from the district health office to the health clinics. Consequently, health centers ' annual average report completeness rate ranges from a minimum of 50 to 70%. Conclusion: Melioidosis surveillance system is simple, flexible, and acceptable, and the data collected represents the burden of the disease in Sabah. The overall implementation status is also good in achieving the intended goal of surveillance for public health action. Based on the evaluation, suggestions to improve melioidosis surveillance include the addition of melioidosis into the current eNotification system. Furthermore, regular data analysis, interpretation, and feedback dissemination are needed not just for healthcare workers but also for the broader public. Regular support supervision and epidemiological studies, as well as feedback systems, are also required to enhance and create a well-functioning surveillance system. Melioidosis cases and outbreaks will need to be handled quickly in the future, so more research is needed to improve melioidosis surveillance.},
howpublished = {published online at https://apcph.cphm.my},
note = {Type: POSTER PRESENTATION; Organisation: Ministry of Health Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia; Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia},
keywords = {evaluation, Meliodosis, surveillance},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}