2. Public health surveillance
The Federal EPI Surveillance System works as
per the module of The World Health
Organization (WHO) which defines public
health surveillance as the “continuous,
systematic collection, analysis and
interpretation of health-related data needed
for the planning, implementation, and
evaluation of public health practice”
3. Importance of public health
surveillance
• The aggregation of quality health-related data is
paramount to the success of all public health initiatives
• Without correct and current data, diseases are
misunderstood, health programs do not accomplish
their goals, and resources are incorrectly allocated
• Functioning surveillance systems are necessary for the
success of global health initiatives
• Reliable data can improve health promotion programs,
and help policy makers and investors allocate resources
effectively
4. Failure of surveillance systems
• The failure of surveillance systems in
developing countries is often due to limited
available resources
• Lack of knowledgeable staff
• Disorganization
• Poor infrastructure for finding and reporting
cases
5. • A health problem must be well
defined before it can be
solved. EPI Surveillance
systems generate data that
help public health officials
understand existing and
emerging infectious and non-
infectious diseases.
• Information collected on new
diseases include
characteristics such as the
type of pathogen involved,
symptoms caused, the
infected population, and the
morbidity and mortality rates.
Data
and
Defining
the
Health
Problem
6. • Once data generated from
surveillance systems are
compiled and analyzed,
• EPI officials can draw a
picture of the health
problem, and
• begin to create public
health interventions.
• After a program is created
and implemented,
continued surveillance is
important to the
program’s evaluation.
Data and
Health
Programming
7. • Facts about disease
distribution and
determinants that
come from surveillance
help EPI and other
stakeholders make
more informed
decisions about where,
when,
• how to spend money in
order to gets the best
results.
Data,
Public
Policy,
and
Funding
8. • It often generates
(written) reports
that contribute to
transparency and
accountability
• It reveals mistakes
and offers paths for
learning and
improvements
• feedback of
information to those
providing the data
Monitoring
and
Evaluation
