Developing and Establishing Attribute-based Surveillance System: A Review

This review was conducted by analysing the nine attributes of the surveillance system according to Updated Guidelines for Evaluating Public Health Surveillance Systems. Information was collected using various databases by setting keywords and the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results showed that 67% of surveillance system implementations used sentinel surveillance and 33% used epidemiological studies. Surveillance system activities: 83% used active and passive surveillance, whereas 17% used only passive surveillance. The adequacy assessment found that 50% met the attributes of surveillance systems in Nigeria, Indonesia and Pakistan, whereas 50% did not meet the attributes of surveillance systems in Ghana, Australia and Ethiopia. This variability was due to geographical differences, the number of informants and experts, the level of collaboration and the health policies of each country. It is recommended that surveillance systems should aim to meet these nine attributes from the design to implementation stage.