Article Sidebar
Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the SAMJ is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.
Main Article Content
The other side of surveillance: Monitoring, application, and integration of tuberculosis data to guide and evaluate programme activities in South Africa
Abstract
Background. The importance of using surveillance data to monitor and evaluate programme activities has been emphasised in international policies for tuberculosis (TB) control.
Objectives. A survey was conducted to assess the use of TB surveillance data to monitor and guide TB programme activities in South Africa (SA).
Methods. As part of an evaluation of the SA national TB surveillance system, semi-structured interviews were conducted among TB staff at health facilities and offices in three provinces. At each site, all persons involved with TB care, management and surveillance were invited to participate.
Results. At least one person (range 1 - 4) was interviewed at 47/54 health facilities (87.0%), 11/13 subdistrict and district TB offices (84.6%), 2/3 provincial TB offices (66.7%), and at the national level (1/1, 100.0%). Of 119 TB staff, 64.7% recognised the purpose of TB surveillance as guiding programme planning, implementation and evaluation. However, only 16.0% reported using data to measure disease burden, 8.4% to monitor trends, and 9.2% to inform resource allocation. The majority reported using TB management tools provided by the national programme, but 44.5% also described using additional tools. Personnel mentioned the need for dedicated surveillance staff, training on recording and reporting, improved computer access, and methods to apply information from surveillance data to the programme.
Conclusions. The majority of TB staff understood the purpose of surveillance but did not routinely use data to guide programme planning, implementation and evaluation. Training and supporting TB staff to utilise surveillance data will help improve the TB surveillance system.
