Evaluation of the Maternal Mortality Surveillance System, The Gambia, 2022

Introduction: Surveillance is critical in tracking maternal deaths, particularly in Africa. As a result, we evaluated The Gambia's Maternal Mortality Surveillance System to determine its usefulness and to assess some of its system attributes. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Abdoulie Sonko, Peter Adebayo Adewuyi, Mary Grey-Johnson, Maimuna Badjie, Chukwuma David Umeokonkwo, Lamin Saidyfaye
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: African Field Epidemiology Network 2024-04-01
Series:Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/21/full/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849326041530630144
author Abdoulie Sonko
Peter Adebayo Adewuyi
Mary Grey-Johnson
Maimuna Badjie
Chukwuma David Umeokonkwo
Lamin Saidyfaye
author_facet Abdoulie Sonko
Peter Adebayo Adewuyi
Mary Grey-Johnson
Maimuna Badjie
Chukwuma David Umeokonkwo
Lamin Saidyfaye
author_sort Abdoulie Sonko
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Surveillance is critical in tracking maternal deaths, particularly in Africa. As a result, we evaluated The Gambia's Maternal Mortality Surveillance System to determine its usefulness and to assess some of its system attributes. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study and interviewed stakeholders in the maternal mortality surveillance system in The Gambia. Using a self-administered questionnaire prepared from the CDC updated guideline for surveillance system evaluation, means and standard deviations (SD), frequencies and proportions were calculated. We scored "0" for findings that do not support the attribute assessed and "1" for key findings that support it and were summarized in proportions for scoring. Proportions of responses were scored as good (≥80%), fair (50-79%), and poor (<50%) for each attribute. Results: Of the 25 surveillance officers interviewed, 88% (22) were males, the median age was 37 (IQR 31-40) years, and 52% (13) were between the ages of 31 and 40 years inclusive. Fifty-two per cent (13) had no surveillance training, while 48% (12) were trained in surveillance. The maternal mortality surveillance system was useful (82%), fairly flexible (60%), fairly timely (50%), fairly representative (55%), and fairly stable (68%), but data quality and completeness were poor (37%). Conclusion: The Gambia's maternal death surveillance system was found to be useful. The quality of data and completeness of reporting were poor, while the timeliness, flexibility, and representativeness of the surveillance system need to be improved. We recommend sensitizing health workers on ensuring data quality and completing their reports.
format Article
id doaj-art-7359e07611ac431d88fcef2083578e49
institution Kabale University
issn 2664-2824
language English
publishDate 2024-04-01
publisher African Field Epidemiology Network
record_format Article
series Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health
spelling doaj-art-7359e07611ac431d88fcef2083578e492025-08-20T03:48:14ZengAfrican Field Epidemiology NetworkJournal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health2664-28242024-04-0172https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph.2024.7.2.112Evaluation of the Maternal Mortality Surveillance System, The Gambia, 2022Abdoulie Sonko0Peter Adebayo Adewuyi1Mary Grey-Johnson2Maimuna Badjie3Chukwuma David Umeokonkwo4Lamin Saidyfaye5Gambia Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, Banjul, The Gambia; Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Banjul, The GambiaGambia Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, Banjul, The GambiaGambia Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, Banjul, The GambiaMinistry of Health and Social Welfare, Banjul, The GambiaLiberia Field Epidemiology Training Program, Monrovia, LiberiaMinistry of Health and Social Welfare, Banjul, The GambiaIntroduction: Surveillance is critical in tracking maternal deaths, particularly in Africa. As a result, we evaluated The Gambia's Maternal Mortality Surveillance System to determine its usefulness and to assess some of its system attributes. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study and interviewed stakeholders in the maternal mortality surveillance system in The Gambia. Using a self-administered questionnaire prepared from the CDC updated guideline for surveillance system evaluation, means and standard deviations (SD), frequencies and proportions were calculated. We scored "0" for findings that do not support the attribute assessed and "1" for key findings that support it and were summarized in proportions for scoring. Proportions of responses were scored as good (≥80%), fair (50-79%), and poor (<50%) for each attribute. Results: Of the 25 surveillance officers interviewed, 88% (22) were males, the median age was 37 (IQR 31-40) years, and 52% (13) were between the ages of 31 and 40 years inclusive. Fifty-two per cent (13) had no surveillance training, while 48% (12) were trained in surveillance. The maternal mortality surveillance system was useful (82%), fairly flexible (60%), fairly timely (50%), fairly representative (55%), and fairly stable (68%), but data quality and completeness were poor (37%). Conclusion: The Gambia's maternal death surveillance system was found to be useful. The quality of data and completeness of reporting were poor, while the timeliness, flexibility, and representativeness of the surveillance system need to be improved. We recommend sensitizing health workers on ensuring data quality and completing their reports.https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/21/full/data qualitytimelinessmortalityattributesindicatorrespondents
spellingShingle Abdoulie Sonko
Peter Adebayo Adewuyi
Mary Grey-Johnson
Maimuna Badjie
Chukwuma David Umeokonkwo
Lamin Saidyfaye
Evaluation of the Maternal Mortality Surveillance System, The Gambia, 2022
Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health
data quality
timeliness
mortality
attributes
indicator
respondents
title Evaluation of the Maternal Mortality Surveillance System, The Gambia, 2022
title_full Evaluation of the Maternal Mortality Surveillance System, The Gambia, 2022
title_fullStr Evaluation of the Maternal Mortality Surveillance System, The Gambia, 2022
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of the Maternal Mortality Surveillance System, The Gambia, 2022
title_short Evaluation of the Maternal Mortality Surveillance System, The Gambia, 2022
title_sort evaluation of the maternal mortality surveillance system the gambia 2022
topic data quality
timeliness
mortality
attributes
indicator
respondents
url https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/21/full/
work_keys_str_mv AT abdouliesonko evaluationofthematernalmortalitysurveillancesystemthegambia2022
AT peteradebayoadewuyi evaluationofthematernalmortalitysurveillancesystemthegambia2022
AT marygreyjohnson evaluationofthematernalmortalitysurveillancesystemthegambia2022
AT maimunabadjie evaluationofthematernalmortalitysurveillancesystemthegambia2022
AT chukwumadavidumeokonkwo evaluationofthematernalmortalitysurveillancesystemthegambia2022
AT laminsaidyfaye evaluationofthematernalmortalitysurveillancesystemthegambia2022