JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Evaluating the public health surveillance systems is important for ensuring that events of public health importance are appropriately monitored. Evaluation studies based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines have been used to appraise surveillance systems globally. Previous evaluation studies undertaken in the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were limited to specific illnesses within a single nation.

Objective:

This study aimed to assess public health monitoring systems in GCC countries using CDC guidelines.

Methods:

The CDC guidelines were used for evaluating the surveillance systems in GCC countries. Representatives from the countries were asked to rate 43 indicators across the systems’ level of usefulness, simplicity, flexibility, acceptability, sensitivity, predictive value positive, representativeness, data quality, stability, and timeliness. Descriptive data analysis and univariate linear regression analysis were deployed.

Results:

All surveillance systems in the GCC covered communicable diseases, and about two-thirds of them covered healthcare associated infections (66.7; 95%CI 29.9, 90.3). The global mean score was 147.0. The UAE scored the highest in the global score rating 167 (83.5; 95%CI 77.7, 88.0), and Oman obtained the highest score for usefulness, simplicity, and flexibility. Strong correlations were observed between the global score and the level of usefulness, flexibility, acceptability, representativeness, and timeliness, and negative correlation between stability and timeliness score. Disease coverage was the most significant predictor of the GCC surveillance global score.

Conclusions:

The GCC member nations’ surveillance systems are beneficial and perform optimally. Other countries must utilize the lessons learned from the success of the systems of UAE and Oman. It is necessary to reform technical assistance, centralized information exchange, and system architecture to maintain the GCC surveillance systems’ viability and adaptability for preventing future potential health risks.