TY - JOUR AU - Rosewell, Alexander AU - Ropa, Berry AU - Randall, Heather AU - Dagina, Rosheila AU - Hurim, Samuel AU - Bieb, Sibauk AU - Datta, Siddhartha AU - Ramamurthy, Sundar AU - Mola, Glen AU - Zwi, Anthony AU - Ray, Pradeep AU - MacIntyre, C. Raina T1 - Mobile Phone–based Syndromic Surveillance System, Papua New Guinea T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2013 VL - 19 IS - 11 SP - 1811 SN - 1080-6059 AB - The health care system in Papua New Guinea is fragile, and surveillance systems infrequently meet international standards. To strengthen outbreak identification, health authorities piloted a mobile phone–based syndromic surveillance system and used established frameworks to evaluate whether the system was meeting objectives. Stakeholder experience was investigated by using standardized questionnaires and focus groups. Nine sites reported data that included 7 outbreaks and 92 cases of acute watery diarrhea. The new system was more timely (2.4 vs. 84 days), complete (70% vs. 40%), and sensitive (95% vs. 26%) than existing systems. The system was simple, stable, useful, and acceptable; however, feedback and subnational involvement were weak. A simple syndromic surveillance system implemented in a fragile state enabled more timely, complete, and sensitive data reporting for disease risk assessment. Feedback and provincial involvement require improvement. Use of mobile phone technology might improve the timeliness and efficiency of public health surveillance. KW - syndromic surveillance KW - mobile phone KW - m-health KW - information and communication technology KW - ICT KW - early warning KW - fragile state KW - evaluation KW - Papau New Guinea KW - Papua New Guinea DO - 10.3201/eid1911.121843 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/11/12-1843_article ER - End of Reference