Evaluation of an HIV-Related Mortuary Surveillance System — Nairobi, Kenya, Two Sites, 2015

Abstract

Problem/ConditionUse of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-mortality surveillance data can help public health officials monitor, evaluate, and improve HIV treatment programs. Many high-income countries have high-coverage civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems linked to case-based HIV surveillance on which to base HIV mortality estimates. However, in the absence of comprehensive CRVS systems in low- and medium-income countries, such as Kenya, mortuary surveillance can be used to understand the occurrence of HIV infection among cadavers. In 2015, a pilot HIV-related mortuary surveillance system was implemented in the two largest mortuaries in Nairobi, Kenya. CDC conducted an evaluation to assess performance attributes and identify strengths and weaknesses of the surveillance system pilot.Period CoveredData collection: January 29–March 3, 2015; evaluation: November 2015.Description of the SystemThe surveillance system objectives were to determine HIV positivity among cadavers at two mortuary sites in Nairobi, Kenya, and to determine annual cause-specific and HIV-specific mortality rates among the cadavers. Cadavers of persons aged ≥15 years at death admitted to either mortuary during a 33-day period were included. Demographic information and place and time of death were entered into a surveillance register. Cardiac blood was collected using transthoracic aspiration, and blood specimens were tested for HIV in a central laboratory. Causes of death were abstracted from mortuary and hospital records. Of the 807 cadavers brought to the mortuaries, 610 (75.6%) had an HIV test result available. The overall unadjusted HIV-positivity rate was 19.5% (119/610), which differed significantly by sex (14.6% among men versus 29.5% among women).EvaluationThe evaluation was conducted using CDC guidelines for evaluating public health surveillance systems. The attributes of simplicity, flexibility, data quality (completeness and validity), acceptability, sensitivity, predictive value positive, representativeness, timeliness, and stability were examined. The evaluation steps included review of the surveillance system documents, in-depth interviews with 20 key informants (surveillance system staff, including mortuary and laboratory staff, and stakeholders involved in funding or implementation), and review of the surveillance database.Results and InterpretationImplementation of the pilot mortuary surveillance system was complex because of extensive paperwork and the need to collect and process specimens outside of business hours. However, the flexibility of the system accommodated multiple changes during implementation, including changes in specimen collection techniques and data collection tools. Acceptability was initially low among the mortuary staff but increased after concerns regarding workload were resolved. Timeliness of specimen collection could not be measured because time of death was rarely documented. Completeness of data available from the system was generally high except for cause of death (46.5%). Although t...

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“…Kejadiankejadian KLB perlu dideteksi secara dini dan diikuti tindakan yang cepat dan tepat, perlu diidentifikasi adanya ancaman KLB beserta kondisi rentan yang memperbesar risiko terjadinya KLB agar dapat dilakukan peningkatan kewaspadaan dan kesiapsiagaan menghadapi kemungkinan KLB, dan oleh karena itu perlu adanya Sistem Kewaspadaan Dini dan Respon (SKDR) Kejadian Luar Biasa atau biasa disebut EWARS (Early Warning and Respon System). Karena terdapat 2 prinsip dalam sistem surveilance yang efektif yatiu memberikan peringatan dini perubahan insiden penyakit dan mendeteksi KBL lebih awal (Rolland, et al, 2006 Kesehatan (J-MIAK) Volume 02, No 01, Tahun 2019ISSN: 2621 periode pelatihan dan periode validasi untuk memastikan sistem dapat terimplementasi dengan baik (Hoot & Aronsky, 2006 (Ali, et al, 2018).…”

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