Evaluating the use of cell phone messaging for community Ebola syndromic surveillance in high risked settings in Southern Sierra Leone.

African health sciences · 2015 · Benefit · Low evidence

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BenefitLow evidencePaper 2951

Study snapshot

PublicationAfrican health sciences · 2015

Study typeother

Reported directionBenefit

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Most underdeveloped countries do not meet core disease outbreak surveillance because of the lack of human resources, laboratory and infrastructural facilities. The use of cell phone technology for disease outbreak syndromic surveillance is a new phenomenon in Sierra Leone despite its successes in other developing countries like Sri Lanka. In this study we set to evaluate the effectiveness of using cell phone technology for Ebola hemorrhagic fever syndromic surveillance in a high risked community in Sierra Leone. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the effectiveness of using cell phone messaging (text and calls) for community Ebola hemorrhagic fever syndromic surveillance in high risked community in southern Sierra Leone. METHOD: All cell phone syndromic surveillance data used for this study was reported as cell phone alert messages-texts and voice calls; by the Moyamba District Health Management Team for both Ebola hemorrhagic fever suspect and mortalities. We conducted a longitudinal data analysis of the monthly cumulative confirmed Ebola hemorrhagic fever cases and mortalities collected by both the traditional sentinel and community cell phone syndromic surveillance from August 2014 to October 2014. RESULTS: A total of 129 and 49 Ebola hemorrhagic fever suspect and confirmed cases respectively were recorded using the community Ebola syndromic surveillance cell phone alert system by the Moyamba District Health Management Team in October 2014. The average number of Ebola hemorrhagic fever suspects and confirmed cases for October 2014 were 4.16 (Std.dev 3.76) and 1.58 (Std.dev 1.43) respectively. Thirty-four percent (n=76) of the community Ebola syndromic surveillance cell phone alerts that were followed-up within 24 hours reported Ebola hemorrhagic fever suspect cases while 65.92% (n=147) reported mortality. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests some form of underreporting by the traditional sentinel Ebola hemorrhagic fever disease surveillance system in Moyamba District southern Sierra Leone for August-September 2014. Cell phone messaging technology can be effectively use as a tool for community epidemic surveillance from peripheral health care facilities to higher levels.

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeother

Effect directionbenefit

PopulationHigh-risk community in Moyamba District, Southern Sierra Leone (community Ebola syndromic surveillance)

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureAugust 2014 to October 2014

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

From August–October 2014, community cell phone alert messages (texts and voice calls) were used for Ebola syndromic surveillance in Moyamba District. In October 2014, 129 suspect and 49 confirmed Ebola cases were recorded via the cell phone alert system; among alerts followed up within 24 hours, 34% (n=76) reported suspect cases and 65.92% (n=147) reported mortality. The authors suggest underreporting by the traditional sentinel surveillance system for August–September 2014 and conclude cell phone messaging can be used effectively for community epidemic surveillance.

Outcomes measured

Effectiveness of cell phone messaging (texts and calls) for community Ebola hemorrhagic fever syndromic surveillance
Counts of Ebola hemorrhagic fever suspect and confirmed cases recorded via cell phone alert system
Counts/proportions of alerts followed up within 24 hours reporting suspect cases and mortality
Comparison with traditional sentinel surveillance (underreporting)

Limitations

No explicit sample size for the surveillance population or total number of alerts is stated in the abstract
Observational/longitudinal analysis over a short period (Aug–Oct 2014)
Effectiveness is inferred from surveillance counts and comparisons; no randomized design described

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "other",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "August 2014 to October 2014"
  },
  "population": "High-risk community in Moyamba District, Southern Sierra Leone (community Ebola syndromic surveillance)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Effectiveness of cell phone messaging (texts and calls) for community Ebola hemorrhagic fever syndromic surveillance",
    "Counts of Ebola hemorrhagic fever suspect and confirmed cases recorded via cell phone alert system",
    "Counts/proportions of alerts followed up within 24 hours reporting suspect cases and mortality",
    "Comparison with traditional sentinel surveillance (underreporting)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "From August–October 2014, community cell phone alert messages (texts and voice calls) were used for Ebola syndromic surveillance in Moyamba District. In October 2014, 129 suspect and 49 confirmed Ebola cases were recorded via the cell phone alert system; among alerts followed up within 24 hours, 34% (n=76) reported suspect cases and 65.92% (n=147) reported mortality. The authors suggest underreporting by the traditional sentinel surveillance system for August–September 2014 and conclude cell phone messaging can be used effectively for community epidemic surveillance.",
  "effect_direction": "benefit",
  "limitations": [
    "No explicit sample size for the surveillance population or total number of alerts is stated in the abstract",
    "Observational/longitudinal analysis over a short period (Aug–Oct 2014)",
    "Effectiveness is inferred from surveillance counts and comparisons; no randomized design described"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "cell phone messaging",
    "text messages",
    "voice calls",
    "community surveillance",
    "syndromic surveillance",
    "Ebola hemorrhagic fever",
    "Sierra Leone",
    "Moyamba District",
    "sentinel surveillance",
    "underreporting"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v15i3.13
PubMed: 26957967

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