Detecting, reporting, and analysis of priority diseases for routine public health surveillance in Liberia
Joseph Asamoah Frimpong, Meeyoung Mattie Park, Maame Pokuah Amo-Addae, Peter Adebayo Adewuyi, Thomas Knue Nagbe
Corresponding author: Joseph Asamoah Frimpong, Liberia Field Epidemiology Training Program, Monrovia, Liberia 
Received: 19 Apr 2017 - Accepted: 05 May 2017 - Published: 28 May 2017
Domain: Epidemiology,Communication for Development,Health communication
Keywords: Public health, surveillance system, Liberia
This article is published as part of the supplement African Case Studies in Public Heath, commissioned by Emory University, African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET).
©Joseph Asamoah Frimpong et al. Pan African Medical Journal (ISSN: 1937-8688). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Joseph Asamoah Frimpong et al. Detecting, reporting, and analysis of priority diseases for routine public health surveillance in Liberia. Pan African Medical Journal. 2017;27(1):9. [doi: 10.11604/pamj.supp.2017.27.1.12570]
Available online at: https://www.panafrican-med-journal.com//content/series/27/1/9/full
Supplement 
Detecting, reporting, and analysis of priority diseases for routine public health surveillance in Liberia
Detecting, reporting, and analysis of priority diseases for routine public health surveillance in Liberia
Joseph Asamoah Frimpong1,&, Meeyoung Mattie Park2, Maame Pokuah Amo-Addae1, Peter Adebayo Adewuyi1, Thomas Knue Nagbe3
1Liberia Field Epidemiology Training Program, Monrovia, Liberia, 2Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA, 3Ministry of Health, Monrovia, Liberia
&Corresponding author
Joseph Asamoah Frimpong, Liberia Field Epidemiology Training Program, Monrovia, Liberia
An essential component of a public health surveillance system is its ability to detect priority diseases which fall within the mandate of public health officials at all levels. Early detection, reporting and response to public health events help to reduce the burden of mortality and morbidity on communities. Analysis of reliable surveillance data provides relevant information which can enable implementation of timely and appropriate public health interventions. To ensure that a resilient system is in place, the World Health Organization (WHO) has provided guidelines for detection, reporting and response to public health events in the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy. This case study provides training on detection, reporting and analysis of priority diseases for routine public health surveillance in Liberia and highlights potential errors and challenges which can hinder effective surveillance. Table-top exercises and group discussion lead participants through a simulated verification and analyses of summary case reports in the role of the District Surveillance Officer. This case study is intended for public health training in a classroom setting and can be accomplished within 2 hours 30 minutes. The target audience include residents in Frontline Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP-Frontline), Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programs (FELTPs), and others who are interested in this topic.
General instructions: ideally, 1 to 2 instructors facilitate the case study for 8 to 20 students in a classroom or conference room setting. The instructor should direct participants to read a paragraph out loud, going around the room to give each participant a chance to read. When the participant reads a question, the instructor directs all participants to answer or engage in discussions. The instructor may split the class to play different roles or take different sides in answering a question. As a result, participants learn from each other, not just from the instructors. Specific instructor’s notes are included with each question in the instructor’s version of this case study.
Audience: residents in Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP-Frontline), Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programs (FELTPs), and others who are interested in this topic.
Prerequisites: before using this case study, case study participants should have received training in Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response protocols.
Materials needed: laptop with Microsoft Office applications, flipchart or white board with markers
Level of training and associated public health activity: basic – public health surveillance
Time required: approximately 2 ˝ hours
Language: English
- Download the case study student guide (PDF - 2.11 MB)
- Request the case study facilitator guide
The authors declare no competing interest.
We wish to thank African Field Epidemiology Network and Emory University for supporting African-based case study development. We acknowledge residents of the Liberia Field Epidemiology Training Program and Ministry of Health, Liberia for allowing us to use their data for this case study.
- Liberia Ministry of Health. National Technical Guidelines for Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response. Monrovia, Liberia. 2015. Google Scholar
- CDC. IDSR Technical Guidelines. 2012. Google Scholar
- Liberia Ministry of Health, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Technical Guidelines for Integrated Disease Surveillance. Monrovia, Republic of Liberia. 2016. Google Scholar
- WHO. International Health Regulations (IHR). 3rd edition. Geneva, Switzerland. 2016.
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