Challenges to the surveillance of non-communicable diseases – a review of selected approaches

Background: The rising global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) necessitates the institutionalization of surveillance systems to track trends and evaluate interventions. However, NCD surveillance capacities vary across high- and low- and middle-income countries. The objective of the review was to analyse existing literature with respect to structures of health facility-based NCD surveillance systems and the lessons low- and middle-income countries can learn in setting up and running these systems. Methods: A literature review was conducted using Pub Med, Web of Knowledge and WHOLIS databases to identify citations published in English language between 1993 and 2013. In total, 20 manuscripts met inclusion criteria: 12 studies were analysed in respect to the surveillance approach, eight supporting documents in respect to general and regional challenges in NCD surveillance. Results: Eleven of the 12 studies identified were conducted in high-income countries. Five studies had a single disease focus, three a multiple NCD focus and three covered communicable as well as non-communicable diseases. Nine studies were passive assisted sentinel surveillance systems, of which six focused on the primary care level and three had additional active surveillance components, i.e., population-based surveys. The supporting documents reveal that NCD surveillance is rather limited in most low- and middle-income countries despite the increasing disease burden and its socioeconomic impact. Major barriers include institutional surveillance capacities and hence data availability. Conclusions: The review suggests that given the complex system requirements, multiple surveillance approaches are necessary to collect comprehensive information for effective NCD surveillance. Sentinel augmented facility-based surveillance, preferably supported by population-based surveys, can provide improved evidence and help budget scarce resources. Electronic supplementary material: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2570-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

National Guidelines for Data Quality in Surveys

The purpose of this guideline document is to provide a comprehensive list of guiding principles and best practices in data quality of all sample surveys with specific reference to demographic, nutrition and health surveys. This document provides insight on crucial steps that need to be followed right from the beginning to ensure data quality. The document is divided into three sections based parts on three broad phases of a survey: • Preparatory phase • Data collection phase • Post data collection phase It lists out the points that need to be borne in mind during the preparatory phase, including the study design, sampling, survey tools and manuals. It guides readers on key quality considerations while designing and developing a data entry package, quality assurance protocols that ensure quality of survey, anthropometry and biomarker data, recruitment and training of survey investigators, and assessment of trained health/research investigators.Citation: ICMR-National Institute of Medical Statistics. 2021. National Guidelines for Data Quality in Surveys. New Delhi: ICMR-NIMS [ISBN: 978-93-5635-982-6