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Integration of multiple surveillance systems advances early warning and supports better decision making during infectious disease events. Taiwan has a comprehensive network of laboratory, epidemiologic, and early warning surveillance systems with nationwide representation. Hospitals and clinical laboratories have deployed automatic reporting mechanisms since 2014 and have effectively improved timeliness of infectious disease and laboratory data reporting. In June 2016, the capacity of real-time surveillance in Taiwan was externally assessed and was found to have a demonstrated and sustainable capability. We describe Taiwan's disease surveillance system and use surveillance efforts for influenza and Zika virus as examples of surveillance capability. Timely and integrated influenza information showed a higher level and extended pattern of influenza activity during the 2015-16 season, which ensured prompt information dissemination and the coordination of response operations. Taiwan also has well-developed disease detection systems and was the first country to report imported cases of Zika virus from Miami Beach and Singapore. This illustrates a high level of awareness and willingness among health workers to report emerging infectious diseases, and highlights the robust and sensitive nature of Taiwan's surveillance system. These 2 examples demonstrate the flexibility of the surveillance systems in Taiwan to adapt to emerging infectious diseases and major communicable diseases. Through participation in the GHSA, Taiwan can more actively collaborate with national counterparts and use its expertise to strengthen global and regional surveillance capacity in the Asia Pacific and in Southeast Asia, in order to advance a world safe and secure from infectious disease.

This study evaluated whether mild stroke patients who received a community-based stroke nursing intervention had better stroke knowledge, behaviour and self-efficacy than those who were exposed to traditional education programmes. The intervention group consisted of sixty five stroke patients randomly selected from seven communities who received three 2-hour stroke interventions per week for 8 weeks. The normal care group consisted of sixty two stroke patients randomly selected from a medical centre who received a general stroke education programme. The stroke patients in two groups were assessed at baseline, after intervention and at the 6-month follow-up. At the 6-month follow-up, the intervention group demonstrated an improvement in the knowledge of stroke risk factors compared with the normal care group. Three months after education, the intervention group exhibited changes in the knowledge of stroke, social participation and self-efficacy compared with those at baseline. Also, self-efficacy was correlated with the knowledge of stroke risk factors after intervention and at the 6-month follow-up; self-efficacy was correlated with social participation after the 6-month follow-up. A community-based stroke nursing intervention might have effects on changes in the knowledge of stroke risk factors, social participation and self-efficacy.