Perspectives on Building Infra-Structure, Comparing Data, and Using Surveillance Data in Developing Countries

Abstract

Imagine being given the task of documenting the behaviour of elephants in the African savannah. Certainly this is an enormous task. No one would consider merely going into the field and taking a few pictures as sufficient work to accomplish the task. In the same regard, the task of developing an international surveillance system requires more than just selecting a questionnaire and translating it; surveillance activities also require a tremendous amount of planning, analysis, and evaluation to assess the health behaviours of the individuals being studied. Surveillance is a form of evidence-seeking behaviour concerned with broad population factors, not with individuals per se. It is epidemiologically based, which is to say that surveillance is based on the evidence that ties together epidemiological findings and related behavioural issues.