PMID- 27776493
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20170802
LR  - 20220330
IS  - 1471-2458 (Electronic)
IS  - 1471-2458 (Linking)
VI  - 16
IP  - 1
DP  - 2016 Oct 25
TI  - Survey of the perceptions of key stakeholders on the attributes of the South 
      African Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.
PG  - 1120
LID - 1120
AB  - BACKGROUND: An effective and efficient notifiable diseases surveillance system 
      (NDSS) is essential for a rapid response to disease outbreaks, and the 
      identification of priority diseases that may cause national, regional or public 
      health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs). Regular assessments of 
      country-based surveillance system are needed to enable countries to respond to 
      outbreaks before they become PHEICs. As part of a broader evaluation of the NDSS 
      in South Africa, the aim of the study was to determine the perceptions of key 
      stakeholders on the national NDSS attributes of acceptability, flexibility, 
      simplicity, timeliness and usefulness. METHODS: During 2015, we conducted a 
      nationally representative cross-sectional survey of communicable diseases 
      coordinators and surveillance officers, as well as members of NDSS committees. 
      Individuals with less than 1 year experience of the NDSS were excluded. 
      Consenting participants completed a self-administered questionnaire. The 
      questionnaire elicited information on demographic information and perceptions of 
      the NDSS attributes. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the 
      unconditional logistic regression model. RESULTS: Most stakeholders interviewed 
      (53 %, 60/114) were involved in disease control and response. The median number 
      of years of experience with the NDSS was 11 years (inter-quartile range (IQR): 5 
      to 20 years). Regarding the NDSS attributes, 25 % of the stakeholders perceived 
      the system to be acceptable, 51 % to be flexible, 45 % to be timely, 61 % to be 
      useful, and 74 % to be simple. Health management stakeholders perceived the 
      system to be more useful and timely compared to the other stakeholders. Those 
      with more years of experience were less likely to perceive the NDSS system as 
      acceptable (OR 0.91, 95 % CI: 0.84-1.00, p = 0.041); those in disease detection 
      were less likely to perceive it as timely (OR 0.10, 95 % CI: 0.01-0.96, 
      p = 0.046) and those participating in National Outbreak Response Team were less 
      likely to perceive it as useful (OR 0.38, 95 % CI: 0.16-0.93, p = 0.034). 
      CONCLUSION: The overall poor perceptions of key stakeholder on the system 
      attributes are a cause for concern. The study findings should inform the 
      revitalisation and reform of the NDSS in South Africa, done in consultation and 
      partnership with the key stakeholders.
FAU - Benson, F G
AU  - Benson FG
AD  - National Department of Health, Private Bag X828, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa. 
      frewbenson@gmail.com.
AD  - School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the 
      Witwatersrand, 27 St Andrews Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa. 
      frewbenson@gmail.com.
FAU - Musekiwa, A
AU  - Musekiwa A
AD  - Division of Global Health Protection, United States Centers for Diseases Control 
      and Prevention (CDC), PO Box 9536, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
FAU - Blumberg, L
AU  - Blumberg L
AD  - School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the 
      Witwatersrand, 27 St Andrews Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa.
AD  - National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Private Bag X4, Sandringham, 
      Johannesburg, 2131, South Africa.
FAU - Rispel, L C
AU  - Rispel LC
AD  - Centre for Health Policy & DST/NRF SARChI Chair on the Health Workforce, School 
      of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 27 
      St Andrews Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa.
LA  - eng
GR  - U19 GH000571/GH/CGH CDC HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20161025
PL  - England
TA  - BMC Public Health
JT  - BMC public health
JID - 100968562
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Communicable Disease Control/*methods
MH  - Communicable Diseases/epidemiology/psychology
MH  - Cross-Sectional Studies
MH  - Disease Outbreaks
MH  - Female
MH  - Health Personnel/*psychology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - *Perception
MH  - Public Health Surveillance/*methods
MH  - South Africa
MH  - Surveys and Questionnaires
PMC - PMC5078943
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Acceptability
OT  - Flexibility
OT  - Notifiable diseases
OT  - Simplicity
OT  - Surveillance system
OT  - Timeliness
OT  - Usefulness
EDAT- 2016/10/26 06:00
MHDA- 2017/08/03 06:00
PMCR- 2016/10/25
CRDT- 2016/10/26 06:00
PHST- 2016/07/07 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2016/10/15 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2016/10/26 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2017/08/03 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2016/10/26 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2016/10/25 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.1186/s12889-016-3781-7 [pii]
AID - 3781 [pii]
AID - 10.1186/s12889-016-3781-7 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - BMC Public Health. 2016 Oct 25;16(1):1120. doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-3781-7.