Digital dashboards with paradata can improve data quality where disease surveillance relies on real-time data collection

Abstract

Dealing with the threats of vector-borne diseases necessitates robust disease surveillance systems. The gathered information from surveillance studies is used to evaluate the effectiveness of control measures. It also guides the allocation of resources within the healthcare system. The disease surveillance data also identify high-risk populations or geographic areas to target interventions. Because of the importance of surveillance in decision-making and its timely requirement, real-time data collection is vital. A few advantages of real-time data collection apps are building powerful digital forms, exporting data for quick analysis in various formats, and being open-source. These apps automate data collection and transfer to an online server even without an internet connection. While collecting disease surveillance data digitally one crucial aspect lacking is data quality. This paper aims to present the importance of dashboards that includes paradata in improving data quality using real-time data collection tools in disease surveillance. Various types of paradata such as timestamps, geo-referencing, audio recording and so on help enhance the quality of data and can help monitor and evaluate surveillance staff. The outcomes of the paradata analysis may lead to the retraining of the surveillance team and even re-planning of surveillance. Undoubtedly, real-time data collection is the way of the future in any field-based study, and studies should be planned in conjunction with paradata to ensure that high-quality data are recorded.