1. Have you ever observed a health informatics project in your (other) organization? Please provide a brief introduction.
I have observed a health informatics project in my current organization that focuses on disease surveillance through an Early Warning, Alert, and Response System (EWARS). The project is adapted from the WHO EWARS framework and tailored to the context of ethnic areas. It integrates two main approaches including Indicator-Based Surveillance (IBS) and Event-Based Surveillance (EBS).
In IBS, selected health facilities report weekly case data for the selected major diseases using the Kobo Collect mobile application, which works both online and offline. Once data are submitted to the central server, the surveillance focal point reviews the cases and verifies them with facility focal persons. Verified data are then processed in the surveillance dashboard, where automated analyses generate disease trends, alerts and key performance indicators.
For health events not captured under IBS, EBS is applied. Outbreak-related news is automatically extracted into the central server daily using Google Apps Script from multiple reliable media channels, including their telegram, RSS feeds, and websites. The surveillance focal monitors these inputs and verifies relevant information with local focal persons if needed. In addition, we also use the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) and HealthMap websites to watch the verified infectious disease outbreak news globally.
2. How can this health informatics project help to improve the current practices?
This project helps to improve the current practices from reactive to more proactive surveillance, enabling quicker response to outbreaks.
Digital tools reduce delays and human errors in using paper-based reporting.
Automated data workflow ensures real-time visualization of trends to enable early warning and faster decision-making.
Early detection of outbreaks through EBS allows the surveillance team to capture health events outside of IBS.
Integration with global platforms (ProMED and HealthMap) expands situational awareness beyond the local level.
Evidence-based response planning is supported through surveillance dashboard that tracks disease trends and potential outbreaks.
3. Are there any challenges or difficulties in implementing the project?
Information noise in EBS: Automated extraction rarely gets relevant and usable information, while outbreak sensitivity in local media remains low.
Connectivity gaps: Limited or unstable internet access in remote areas can delay data submission.
Technical capacity: some health workers need digital skills to use data collection tools effectively.
Verification bottlenecks: Surveillance focal point may be overwhelmed by large volumes of data, especially an increase of surveillance sites and during outbreaks.
Data Utilization: encouraging leadership to use data in the dashboard for decision-making is still a gradual process.