Abstract
A reliable surveillance system is the key to establishing
connections between the epidemiological situation and
the planning, monitoring and evaluation of public
health interventions. Periodic evaluation of surveillance
systems is essential to verify whether they are operating
efficiently.
In Italy, viral hepatitis is a statutorily notifiable disease and
cases are reported to the notification system of the Ministry
of Health. In addition, a voluntary sentinel surveillance
system, named SEIEVA, coordinated by the National Institute
of Health, has been active since 1985 to promote monitoring
and control of acute viral hepatitis infections at both local
and national levels.
The aim of the present study was to assess the performance of
SEIEVA, from the years 2007 to 2010, in accurately monitoring
viral hepatitis cases in Italy.
A literature review was performed to identify system attributes
to be evaluated and to select the appropriate indicators for
measuring sensitivity, representativeness, data quality, and
timeliness of the system.
During the study period 5,851 acute viral hepatitis cases
were notified to SEIEVA. More than half of the observed
cases were attributable to hepatitis A virus (HAV) (51.8%)
and 33.9% to hepatitis B (HBV). Overall, 64.6% of reports
had data on all relevant serological markers and the
representativeness of the system was 71.7%. Complete
information on gender, age and city of residence was
available for 91.9% of reports. Data on major risk factors
for HAV were available for 96.7% of cases, while risk factors
for HBV were available in only 84.0%. Information on date
of diagnosis and date of interview of the patients was
available for 5.812 reports (99.3%).
Statistically significant differences in sensitivity and representativeness
were observed between geographical areas, with
higher values reported for both attributes in central Italy. In
addition, a significantly higher percentage of cases reported in
central Italy had complete information on risk factors for HBV
and HCV, vaccination status and outcome of infection.
Monitoring and evaluation of the SEIEVA system was critical
to assessing its performance by providing evidence of the
validity of the data and identifying areas where surveillance
needs to be strengthened.
Key messages
A reliable surveillance system is the key to establishing
connections between the epidemiological situation and the
planning, monitoring and evaluation of public health
interventions.
Monitoring and evaluation of the SEIEVA was critical to
assessing its performance by providing evidence of the
validity of the data and identifying areas where surveillance
needs to be strengthened.
Lingua originale | English |
---|---|
pagine (da-a) | ckt123-ckt123--085 |
Rivista | The European Journal of Public Health |
Volume | 23 |
Stato di pubblicazione | Pubblicato - 2013 |
Evento | 6th European Public Health Conference "Health in Europe: are we there yet? Learning from the past, building the future" - Bruxelles Durata: 13 nov 2013 → 16 nov 2013 |
Keywords
- Performance
- Surveillance