Competency: 1

Details

Identify a surveillance system and its objectives.

Considerations

• The purpose of surveillance and surveillance system evaluation.
• Surveillance system attributes, e.g. completeness, timeliness, usefulness, representativeness, sensitivity, specificity.
• Guidelines for conducting a surveillance system evaluation.
• The public health importance of the clinical/health-related event under surveillance.
• The purpose and operation of the surveillance system and resources (financial, personnel and other resources) needed to operate the surveillance system.
• Surveillance system attributes and how to select attributes for evaluation.
• The rationale for surveillance and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.
• The surveillance cycle: set objectives, data collection, data analysis, interpretation, action, evaluation.
• Population under surveillance.
• Types of surveillance, including: (i) active surveillance; (ii) passive surveillance; (iii) sentinel surveillance; (iv) syndromic surveillance.
• Disease registration systems.
• Cancer registration (as an example of disease registration).

Relevant learning outcomes