Proposed approaches for public health surveillance: A literature review for the Canadian National HIV Surveillance Program.

Abstract

Background: The National HIV Surveillance Program, managed by the Public Health Agency of Canada, is a passive surveillance system that collects de-identified data on HIV cases in Canada. Regular review of this surveillance system is required to maintain its accuracy, effectiveness and relevance in the face of a changing HIV epidemic. The National HIV Surveillance Program is undergoing a comprehensive review and renewal process with the aim of identifying and implementing potential improvements to meet the information needs of communities, service providers, researchers, provinces and territories and the federal government more effectively.

Methods: A non-systematic literature review was conducted in June to July 2023, with 3,521 articles found and 105 included.

Objective: This literature review aimed to identify proposed approaches for public health surveillance, with an emphasis on HIV surveillance and identify key findings relating to the following themes: surveillance system infrastructure, data collection, ethical considerations and stakeholder relationships.

Results: Key findings from the literature review pertained to standardization and centralization of data collection; collection of demographics, disease staging, social determinants of health and other data elements; and linking surveillance systems to other data sources or other surveillance systems. Additional findings concerned legislative and policy review, privacy strategies, informed consent, ethical surveillance system design, stakeholder consultation at all stages, knowledge translation and ensuring adequate resourcing.

Conclusion: In future work, lessons resulting from the literature review will be combined with evidence from other components of the overall review of Canada's HIV surveillance system. Together, this information will be further assessed and prioritized for possible implementation after consultation with data providers and communities.