40.4  Reporting public health surveillance data and getting feedback

After you have analysed and interpreted your public health surveillance data, you should prepare a report and send it to your supervisor at the nearby Health Centre. For monthly reports, you can summarise the data as in Tables 40.1 to 40.3. For immediately reportable diseases (diseases that should be reported within 30 minutes), such as polio and cholera, you should use other reporting forms which are described in Study Session 41. The Health Centre or District Health Office will use your report for planning and allocation of resources, such as drugs and other Health Post supplies (Figure 40.3). They may also use the data to improve health services, assess the progress of activities of the health institutions and control an epidemic.

Figure 40.3  Your reports help in the effective planning and allocation of resources for your Health Post. (Photo: Basiro Davey)

Always try to get oral or written feedback on your report from your supervisor at the Health Centre and/or officials at the District Health Office, because they can help you to improve your work.