Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 14;23(1):173.
doi: 10.1186/s12875-022-01776-x.

The Sentiworld project: global mapping of sentinel surveillance networks in general practice

Andrew Meci  1 , Florence Du Breuil  2 , Ana Vilcu  2 , Thibaud Pitel  2 , Caroline Guerrisi  2 , Quentin Robard  2 , Clément Turbelin  2 , Thomas Hanslik  2   3   4 , Louise Rossignol  2   5 , Cécile Souty  2 , Thierry Blanchon  2
Affiliations

The Sentiworld project: global mapping of sentinel surveillance networks in general practice

Andrew Meci et al. BMC Prim Care. .

Abstract

Background: Sentinel networks composed of general practitioners (GPs) represent a powerful tool for epidemiologic surveillance and ad-hoc studies. Globalization necesitates greater international cooperation among sentinel networks. The aim of this study was to inventory GP sentinel networks involved in epidemiological surveillance on a global scale.

Methods: GP sentinel surveillance networks were inventoried globally between July 2016 and December 2019. Each identified network was required to fill out an electronic descriptive survey for inclusion.

Results: A total of 148 networks were identified as potential surveillance networks in general practice and were contacted. Among them, 48 were included in the study. Geographically, 33 networks (68.8%) were located in Europe and 38 (79.2%) had national coverage. The number of GPs registered in these networks represented between 0.1 and 100% of the total number of GPs in the network's country or region, with a median of 2.5%. All networks were involved in continuous epidemiologic surveillance and 47 (97.9%) monitored influenza-like illness. Data collection methods were paper-based forms (n = 26, 55.3%), electronic forms on a dedicated website (n = 18, 38.3%), electronic forms on a dedicated software program (n = 14, 29.8%), and direct extraction from electronic medical records (n = 14, 29.8%). Along with this study, a website has been created to share all data collected.

Conclusions: This study represents the first global geographic mapping of GP sentinel surveillance networks. By sharing this information, collaboration between networks will be easier, which can strengthen the quality of international epidemiologic surveillance. In the face of crises like that of COVID-19, this is more imperative than ever before.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Family practice; General practice; Global health; Health status indicators; Sentinel surveillance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of networks identified and included in the Sentiworld study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Global mapping of GP sentinel surveillance networks included in the Sentiworld study. This image was taken from our Sentiworld website (©Réseau Sentinelles), developed with PSP Symfony
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Year of creation for networks grouped in age bands of 10 years
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Choi BC. The past, present, and future of public health surveillance. Scientifica (Cairo).;20122012:875253. Available from: 10.6064/2012/875253. - PMC - PubMed
    1. WHO, UNAIDS . WHO Recommended Surveillance Standards. Second Edition. World Health Organization. 1999. pp. 8–11.
    1. M'Ikanatha NM, Lynfield R, Julian KG, Van Beneden CA, de Valk H. Infectious disease surveillance: a cornerstone for prevention and control. Infectious disease surveillance. 2. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell; 2013. p. 687.
    1. Pivette M, Mueller JE, Crépey P, Bar-Hen A. Drug sales data analysis for outbreak detection of infectious diseases: a systematic literature review. BMC Infect Dis. 2014;14:604. Available from: 10.1186/s12879-014-0604-2. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Guerrisi C, Turbelin C, Blanchon T, Hanslik T, Bonmarin I, Levy-Bruhl D, et al. Participatory syndromic surveillance of influenza in Europe. J Infect Dis. 2016;214(suppl_4):S386-SS92. Available from: 10.1093/infdis/jiw280. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources