JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Emerging pathogens and pathogen spillover highlight the need for One Health surveillance to detect outbreaks as early as possible. Participatory surveillance empowers communities to collect data at the source on the health of animals, people, and the environment. Technological advances are increasing the utility and scope of these systems. This initiative sought to collate information from currently active participatory surveillance systems to better understand the parameters collected among the One Health spectrum.

Objective:

The objective of this effort was to develop a One Health data parameter compendium exploring parameters available from systems active in 2023, identified from an existing global map of One Health participatory surveillance systems. The compendium was designed to help understand current parameters being collected and serve as a reference for informing future systems, as well as initiatives focused on data standards.

Methods:

Points of contact associated with 60 systems identified through the One Health Participatory Surveillance System Map were emailed explaining the objective of this effort and inviting them to share their systems’ data parameters, how those parameters are collected, and any specific considerations to highlight for a given parameter. Data from 38 (63%) active systems were received and aggregated into a searchable spreadsheet-based compendium organized into General, Livestock, Wildlife, Environmental, and Human sections. An advisory group of One Health participatory surveillance experts reviewed the parameters, refined the overall structure of the compendium, and contributed to the descriptive analysis of sector-specific nuances in participatory surveillance data collection.

Results:

A comprehensive compendium of data parameters utilized by a diverse range of single-sector and multisector participatory surveillance systems from across five continents was collated and reviewed. Variation was noted among collection techniques across common parameters such as demographics and clinical signs/symptoms. Many systems employed approaches to limit data collection time including decision-trees, baseline collection of demographics for ongoing systems, and photos in place of written descriptors for identification. Most human health systems collected parameters from a cohort of users about their own health over time. Many wildlife and environmental systems incorporated parameters that were based on events.

Conclusions:

Multiple participatory surveillance systems are already taking a One Health approach in augmenting traditional surveillance through identification of shared health threats among animals, people and the environment. Parameters collated from across the One Health spectrum represent a valuable resource to inform development of future systems and highlight opportunities for expanding current systems for multisector participatory surveillance.