220379 Implementation of a Mobile-based Disease Surveillance System during the 2009 Hajj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Monday, November 8, 2010

Ahmad Baghal, MS, MD, MPH , NCPHI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Steven R. Machlin, MS , Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD
Tadesse Wuhib, MD, MPH , NCPHI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Ziad Memish, MD MPH , Assistant Deputy Minister of Health for Preventive Medicine, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Osama Ibrahim, MD, MSc, PhD , NCPHI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Ahmad Balkhair, MD , Information Technology, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Munther Atrash, BS , Information Technology, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Ngozi Adaeze Erondu, MPH , NCPHI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Wei Li, MD, MS , NCPHI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Carl Kinkade, MS , NCPHI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Scott J. N. McNabb, PhD , NCPHI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Background: Mass gatherings are settings for exponential spread of influenza H1N1, and the largest mass gathering is the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The need to have an efficient approach to disease reporting during Hajj led to collaboration between the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement a Mobile-based Disease Surveillance System (MDSS).

Objective/Purpose: The MDSS aims to streamline disease reporting, data visualization, assessment, and response to outbreaks; improve operational effectiveness and organizational efficiency by providing real-time data feeds to support public health decision-making.

Methods: The technical infrastructure included a database server, smart phones, and survey software. The workflow of data collection and visualization included designing the relevant surveys using a laptop. The surveys were then uploaded to the server and available for download to the smart phones.

Results: We trained a total of 200 health professionals during two training events. Participants learned how to use the smart phones, access and navigate disease surveys, and configure and troubleshoot network connectivity problems. The training also covered the benefits of mobile technology and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in surveillance, the software used to design and collect data. Health workers in the field then interviewed patients and completed surveys that were uploaded seamlessly to the server. Aggregated data sets were collected and visualized electronically for each of the nine reportable conditions.

Discussion/Conclusions: The objectives of the MDSS were successfully achieved. The smart phones proved to be valuable in streamlining data collection and improving data quality and visualization of health outcome data. The MDSS outperformed the existing paper-based system in delivering timely information for MOH decision-makers. Moreover, the use of GPS helped alert and locate potential outbreaks. Tentatively, the MDSS appears to offer significant benefits for enhancing public health decision making.

Learning Areas:
Communication and informatics
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control

Learning Objectives:
1) Describe the benefits of mobile technology in disease surveillance, 2) Design disease surveillance system using mobile technology, 3) Define operational effectiveness and organizational efficiency.

Keywords: Surveillance, Technology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I oversaw the design, implementation, adn deployment of the Mobile-based Disease Surveillance System during Hajj 2009.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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