Quantifying reporting timeliness to improve outbreak control.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Bonacic Marinovic A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4313625 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:Abstract Slow outbreak reporting by states is a key challenge to effectively responding to global health emergencies like Zika, Ebola, and H1N1. Current policy focuses on improving domestic outbreak surveillance capacity globally in order to reduce reporting lags. However, governments also face economic and political incentives to conceal outbreaks, and these incentives largely are ignored in policy discussions. In spite of the policy implications for outbreak response, the “capacity” and “will” explanations have not been systematically examined. Analysis of a dataset coding the timeliness of outbreak reporting from 1996–2014 finds evidence that states’ unwillingness to report—rather than just their inability—leads to delayed reporting. The findings suggest that though building surveillance capacity is critical, doing so may not be sufficient to reduce reporting lags. Policy aimed at encouraging rapid reporting must also mitigate the associated economic and political costs.
| S-EPMC7149472 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Cross-border disease transmission is a key challenge for prevention and control of outbreaks. Variation in surveillance structure and national guidelines used in different countries can affect their data quality and the timeliness of outbreak reports. This study aimed to evaluate timeliness and data quality of national outbreak reporting for four countries in the Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance network (MBDS). Data on disease outbreaks occurring from 2010 to 2015 were obtained from the national disease surveillance reports of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Data included total cases, geographical information, and dates at different timeline milestones in the outbreak detection process. Nine diseases or syndromes with public health importance were selected for the analysis including: dengue, food poisoning & diarrhea, severe diarrhea, diphtheria, measles, H5N1 influenza, H1N1 influenza, rabies, and pertussis. Overall, 2,087 outbreaks were reported from the four countries. The number of outbreaks and number of cases per outbreak varied across countries and diseases, depending in part on the outbreak definition used in each country. Dates on index onset, report, and response were >95% complete in all countries, while laboratory confirmation dates were 10%-100% incomplete in most countries. Inconsistent and out of range date data were observed in 1%-5% of records. The overall timeliness of outbreak report, response, and public communication was within 1-15 days, depending on countries and diseases. Diarrhea and severe diarrhea outbreaks showed the most rapid time to report and response, whereas diseases such as rabies, pertussis and diphtheria required a longer time to report and respond. The hierarchical structure of the reporting system, data collection method, and country's resources could affect the data quality and timeliness of the national outbreak reporting system. Differences in data quality and timeliness of outbreak reporting system among member countries should be considered when planning data sharing strategies within a regional network.
| S-EPMC5937798 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Reporting of epidemiological data requires coordinated action by numerous agencies, across a multitude of logistical steps. Using collated and reported information to inform direct interventions can be challenging due to associated delays. Mitigation can, however, occur indirectly through the public generation of concern, which facilitates adherence to protective behaviors. We utilized a coupled-dynamic multiplex network model with a communication- and disease-layer to examine how variation in reporting delay and testing probability are likely to impact adherence to protective behaviors, such as reducing physical contact. Individual concern mediated adherence and was informed by new- or active-case reporting, at the population- or community-level. Individuals received information from the communication layer: direct connections that were sick or adherent to protective behaviors increased their concern, but absence of illness eroded concern. Models revealed that the relative benefit of timely reporting and a high probability of testing was contingent on how much information was already obtained. With low rates of testing, increasing testing probability was of greater mitigating value. With high rates of testing, maximizing timeliness was of greater value. Population-level reporting provided advanced warning of disease risk from nearby communities; but we explore the relative costs and benefits of delays due to scale against the assumption that people may prioritize community-level information. Our findings emphasize the interaction of testing accuracy and reporting timeliness for the indirect mitigation of disease in a complex social system.
| S-EPMC9046562 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundTimeliness is a key performance measure of public health surveillance systems. Timeliness can vary by disease, intended use of the data, and public health system level. Studies were reviewed to describe methods used to evaluate timeliness and the reporting timeliness of National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) data was evaluated to determine if this system could support timely notification and state response to multistate outbreaks.MethodsPublished papers that quantitatively measured timeliness of infectious disease surveillance systems operating in the U.S. were reviewed. Median reporting timeliness lags were computed for selected nationally notifiable infectious diseases based on a state-assigned week number and various date types. The percentage of cases reported within the estimated incubation periods for each disease was also computed.ResultsFew studies have published quantitative measures of reporting timeliness; these studies do not evaluate timeliness in a standard manner. When timeliness of NNDSS data was evaluated, the median national reporting delay, based on date of disease onset, ranged from 12 days for meningococcal disease to 40 days for pertussis. Diseases with the longer incubation periods tended to have a higher percentage of cases reported within its incubation period. For acute hepatitis A virus infection, which had the longest incubation period of the diseases studied, more than 60% of cases were reported within one incubation period for each date type reported. For cryptosporidiosis, Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection, meningococcal disease, salmonellosis, and shigellosis, less than 40% of cases were reported within one incubation period for each reported date type.ConclusionPublished evaluations of infectious disease surveillance reporting timeliness are few in number and are not comparable. A more standardized approach for evaluating and describing surveillance system timeliness should be considered; a recommended methodology is presented. Our analysis of NNDSS reporting timeliness indicated that among the conditions evaluated (except for acute hepatitis A infection), the long reporting lag and the variability across states limits the usefulness of NNDSS data and aberration detection analysis of those data for identification of and timely response to multistate outbreaks. Further evaluation of the factors that contribute to NNDSS reporting timeliness is warranted.
| S-EPMC509250 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTimely data on drug overdose deaths can help identify community needs, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and allocate resources. We identified variations in death investigation and reporting systems within and between states that affect the timeliness and accuracy of death certificate information.MethodsThe HEALing Communities Study (HCS) is a community-engaged, data-driven approach to combating the opioid crisis in 67 communities in 4 states: Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. HCS conducted a survey of coroners and medical examiners to understand variability in drug overdose death data. We compared survey results in Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio with national data to investigate the completeness of provisional death counts by type of death investigation system.ResultsCommunities in each HCS state had different ways of collecting and reporting mortality data. Completion of death certificates for drug overdoses ranged from <2 weeks in 23% (7 of 31) of those surveyed to more than 3 months in 10% (3 of 31) of those surveyed. Variabilities in the timeliness of reporting drug overdose deaths were not associated with type of coroner or medical examiner office in each state, urban versus rural setting, or specificity of drug information on the death certificate.ConclusionHaving specific drug information on the death certificate may increase death certificate quality, comparability, and accuracy. We recommend the following: (1) all coroners and medical examiners should be trained on conducting death investigations, interpreting toxicology reports, and completing death certificates; (2) 1 office in each state should oversee all coroners and medical examiners to increase data consistency; and (3) communities should identify and address barriers to timely death certification.
| S-EPMC10905759 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Large-scale protracted outbreaks can be prevented through early detection, notification, and rapid control. We assessed trends in timeliness of detecting and responding to outbreaks in the African Region reported to the World Health Organization during 2017-2019. We computed the median time to each outbreak milestone and assessed the rates of change over time using univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analyses. We selected 296 outbreaks from 348 public reported health events and evaluated 184 for time to detection, 232 for time to notification, and 201 for time to end. Time to detection and end decreased over time, whereas time to notification increased. Multiple factors can account for these findings, including scaling up support to member states after the World Health Organization established its Health Emergencies Programme and support given to countries from donors and partners to strengthen their core capacities for meeting International Health Regulations.
| S-EPMC7588517 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundProviding timely access to care has been a long-standing priority for the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Recent strategies to reduce long wait times have focused on purchasing community care by a fee-for-service model. Whether outsourcing Veterans Affairs (VA) specialty care to the community improves access is unclear.ObjectivesWe compared time from referral to treatment among Veterans whose care was provided by VA versus community care purchased by the VA, using obstructive sleep apnea as an example condition.MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort study of Northern California Veterans seeking sleep apnea care through the San Francisco VA Healthcare System between 2012 and 2018. We used multivariable linear regression with propensity score matching to investigate the relationship between time to care delivery and care setting (VA provided vs. VA-purchased community care). A total of 1347 Northern California Veterans who completed sleep apnea testing within the VA and 88 Veterans who completed sleep apnea testing in the community had complete data for analysis.ResultsAmong Northern California Veterans with obstructive sleep apnea, outsourcing of care to the community was associated with longer time from referral to therapy (mean±SD, 129.6±82.8 d with VA care vs. 252.0±158.8 d with community care, P<0.001) and greater loss to follow-up.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that purchasing community care may lead to care fragmentation and not improve wait times nor improve access to subspecialty care for Veterans.
| S-EPMC7899214 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background:Many authors choose to work with professional medical writers when reporting the results of clinical trials. We conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between professional medical writing support (PMWS) and the quality, ethics and timeliness of publications reporting clinical trials. Methods:Using terms related to 'medical writer' and 'observational study', we searched MEDLINE and Embase (no date limits), as well as abstracts and posters from meetings of the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP; 2014-2018). We also hand-searched the journals Medical Writing and The Write Stuff (2014-2018) and the bibliographies of studies identified in the electronic searches. We screened the results to identify studies that compared the quality, ethics and timeliness of clinical trial publications written with and without declared PMWS. Results:Our searches identified 97 potentially relevant studies, of which 89 were excluded during screening and full paper review. The remaining eight studies compared 849 publications with PMWS with 2073 articles developed without such support. In these eight studies, PMWS was shown to be associated with increased adherence to Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines (in 3/3 studies in which this was assessed), publication in journals with an impact factor (one study), a higher quality of written English (one study), and a lower likelihood of reporting non-pre-specified outcomes (one study). PMWS was not associated with increased adherence to CONSORT for Abstracts guidelines (one study) or with the impact of published articles (mean number of citations per year, mean number of article views per year and Altmetric score; one study). In studies that assessed timeliness of publication, PMWS was associated with a reduced time from last patient visit in clinical trials to primary publication (one study), whereas time from submission to acceptance showed inconsistent results (two studies). Conclusions:This systematic review of eight observational studies suggests that PMWS is positively associated with measures of overall quality of reporting of clinical trials and may improve the timeliness of publication.
| S-EPMC6621980 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In New Zealand, the introduced marsupial brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is a pest species subject to control measures, primarily to limit its ability to transmit bovine tuberculosis (TB) to livestock and for conservation protection. To better define parameters for targeted possum control and TB surveillance, we here applied a novel approach to analyzing GPS data obtained from 44 possums fitted with radio-tracking collars, producing estimates of the animals' short-term nocturnal foraging patterns based on 1-, 3- or 5-nights' contiguous data. Studies were conducted within two semi-arid montane regions of New Zealand's South Island High Country: these regions support low-density possum populations (<2 possums/ha) in which the animals' home ranges are on average larger than in high-density populations in forested habitat. Possum foraging range width (FRW) estimates increased with increasing monitoring periods, from 150-200 m based on a single night's movement data to 300-400 m based on 5 nights' data. The largest average FRW estimates were recorded in winter and spring, and the smallest in summer. The results suggest that traps or poison-bait stations (for lethal control) or monitoring devices (for TB surveillance), set for > 3 consecutive nights at 150 m interval spacings, would likely place >95% of the possums in this type of habitat at risk of encountering these devices, year-round. Modelling control efficacy against operational expenditure, based on these estimations, identified the relative cost-effectiveness of various strategies that could be applied to a typical aerial poisoning operation, to reduce the ongoing TB vectorial risk that possums pose in the High Country regions. These habitat-specific findings are likely to be more relevant than the conventional pest control and monitoring methodologies developed for possums in their more typical forested habitat.
| S-EPMC4374807 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Accurate disease reporting, ideally in near real time, is a prerequisite to detecting disease outbreaks and implementing appropriate measures for their control. This study compared the performance of the traditional paper-based approach to animal disease reporting in Ethiopia to one using an application running on smartphones. In the traditional approach, the total number of cases for each disease or syndrome was aggregated by animal species and reported to each administrative level at monthly intervals; while in the case of the smartphone application demographic information, a detailed list of presenting signs, in addition to the putative disease diagnosis were immediately available to all administrative levels via a Cloud-based server. While the smartphone-based approach resulted in much more timely reporting, there were delays due to limited connectivity; these ranged on average from 2?days (in well-connected areas) up to 13?days (in more rural locations). We outline the challenges that would likely be associated with any widespread rollout of a smartphone-based approach such as the one described in this study but demonstrate that in the long run the approach offers significant benefits in terms of timeliness of disease reporting, improved data integrity and greatly improved animal disease surveillance.
| S-EPMC5776010 | biostudies-literature