Improving DISEASE Reporting SYSTEM IN Nigeria: A CASE for INTRODUCING A Sustainable ELECTRONIC Surveillance SYSTEM

Introduction:An effective health system is characterised by services that meet the healthcare needs of the populace. Healthcare systems depend on accurate and timely information about disease occurrence to guide planning, resource allocation, and case management. Nigeria like many developing countries experiences serious problems of under reporting of disease due to many socio-cultural reasons.Gaps in disease surveillance capacity highlight a need for an efficient timely system to guide public health planning and interventions.Objectives:At the end of this session the participants will be able to describe the current system of disease reporting in Nigeria; identify its obvious shortcomings and understand the justification as well as the workability of the proposed electronic solutions here offered.Methods:Qualitatively, search engines were used to conduct literature search on healthcare services gap identification including health policy documents. Key informant approach was adopted for identified healthcare workers.Quantitatively, disease notification schedule sheets were assessed at all levels to ascertain adequacy of reporting system randomly selecting a state as pilot. A post assessment survey through a semi-structured interview technique to identify the gaps inherent in their disease notification schedule sheet was conducted.Results:No appropriate follow up mechanism.Reporting beyond the Primary care/LGA level were mere repetition of data.85% of private health care providers and more than 90% of laboratories do not report disease at all with more than 60% expressing little or no knowledge of their disease notification obligations. More than 75% of Healthcare workers are not adequately trained or motivated to objectively track notifiable diseases.Discussion/Conclusions: Disease notification and reporting systems were grossly inadequate and justifies the need for a more accurate mechanism offered by the proposed electronic system.