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
. 2024 Nov 22;24(1):3246.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20692-6.

Evaluating Senegal's COVID-19 surveillance system for early detection and response: lessons from the Keur Massar district, March 03, 2020 to May 31, 2022

Amady Ba #  1 , Jerlie Loko Roka #  2 , Mbouna Ndiaye  3 , Mamadou Sarifou Ba  3 , Boly Diop  1 , Omer Pasi  4
Affiliations

Evaluating Senegal's COVID-19 surveillance system for early detection and response: lessons from the Keur Massar district, March 03, 2020 to May 31, 2022

Amady Ba et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of strong surveillance systems in detecting and responding to public health threats. We sought to evaluate attributes of Keur Massar district's existing COVID-19 surveillance system.

Method: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2022; desk review covered data collected from March 03, 2020 to May 31, 2022 in 18 health posts. Data were collected using a standardized questionnaire completed during a face-to-face interview and a desk review of surveillance data gathered from different notification platforms (Excel, ODK, DHIS2 aggregated, and tracker). Study was conducted in Keur Massar department, in the Dakar region. We conducted face-to-face interviews with 18 nurses in June 2022. We utilized a standardized, semi-structured questionnaire adapted from CDC guidelines for surveillance evaluation.

Results: All 18 head nurses targeted, responded to the questionnaire, with an average age of 41.5 years and 63% aged between 30 and 44. The sex ratio (M/F) was 0.6, and respondents had an average of 15.1 years of experience. All nurses were involved in COVID-19 surveillance and had notified at least one suspected case. While 39% conducted COVID-19 data analysis, 55.6% received feedback from the national level. The usefulness score for the surveillance system was 77.7, with the lowest score (72.9) related to describing the pandemic's magnitude. Simplicity scored 63.3, with low scores for the availability of guidelines (0) but high scores for training and equipment (94.4). Acceptability scored 76.6, with strong support for COVID-19 surveillance but weak community involvement (48.6). While no cases were reported through the DHIS2 aggregated platform, 1327 PCR-positive SARS-CoV-2 cases were reported through the national Excel sheet and 278 PCR-positive cases were reported through the COVID-19 DHIS2 tracker during the same period. Timeliness varied, averaging 3 days using ODK and 7 days with the national Excel sheet, with a combined average of 5 days across both systems.

Conclusion: The study highlights challenges in COVID-19 surveillance due to limited human resources, multiple data systems, and delays in notification. While most nurses were trained and equipped, gaps in data quality, timeliness, and community support emphasize the need for streamlined processes and increased workforce capacity.

Keywords: COVID-19; Evaluation; Senegal; Surveillance system.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Targeted participants in this assessment were enrolled after obtaining clear and appropriate informed consent. The study was approved by the Senegalese National Ethical Board Committee, authorization No. 0000148/MSAS/CNERS/SP prior to publication. In addition, we have obtained permission from the Senegalese Ministry of Health, Department of Prevention, to abstract and use data from the alert system and the national system. This activity was reviewed by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy See e.g., 45 C.F.R. part 46, 21 C.F.R. part 56; 42 U.S.C. §241(d); 5 U.S.C. §552a; 44 U11.S.C. §3501031 et seq. . The authors involved in this study declare that they have no conflicts of interest, either direct or indirect, in conducting the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Training and equipment for core surveillance functions by 18 survey responders. Red arrows indicate the starting date of the implementation of each database
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Average time between onset date of symptomatic COVID-19 and case reporting, Keur Massar department, Dakar, Senegal, March 03, 2020 to May 31, 2022
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Johns Hopkins University. COVID-19 Dashboard. 2022 [cited 2022 2022/02/28]; Available from: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html.
    1. World Health Organization, Z.M., Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; Protocol for the evaluation of epidemiological surveillance systems. 1997;(2):1–48
    1. Murray, J. and A.L. Cohen, Infectious Disease Surveillance. International Encyclopedia of Public Health, 2017: p. 222–9.
    1. Aborode AT, et al. Impact of poor disease surveillance system on COVID-19 response in africa: Time to rethink and rebuilt. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health. 2021;12: 100841. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fall Ibrahim Soce, R. S., Yahaya Ali Ahmed, et al. Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy: current status, challenges and perspectives for the future in Africa. BMJ Global Health. 2019;4(4):e001427. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources