ArticleMalaria journal2019
Effectiveness of 24-h mobile reporting tool during a malaria outbreak in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.
Article in Malaria journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Role and effectiveness of telephone hotlines in outbreak response in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Electronic data collection, management and analysis tools used for outbreak response in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and stakeholder survey.BMC public health · 2021Pooled it
- The effects of mobile health on emergency care in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and narrative synthesis.Journal of global health · 2021Pooled it
- Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of reactive, targeted indoor residual spraying for malaria control in low-transmission settings: a cluster-randomised, non-inferiority trial in South Africa.Lancet (London, England) · 2021Trial
- Resurgence of malaria in Ethiopia: a national landscape analysis of systemic and operational gaps.Malaria journal · 2026Article
- Feasibility of a Mobile Application for Self and Assisted Reporting of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Self-Testing Results in Tanzania: A Pilot Study.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2025Article
- Implementation and fidelity of reactive surveillance and response strategies for malaria elimination: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Telephone hotlines for infectious disease outbreaks in Africa: A review and qualitative study.Journal of public health in Africa · 2024Article
- Feasibility and acceptability of a digital tool to support community-based screening for COVID-19 and other priority medical conditions across rural and peri-urban communities in Guinea.Oxford open digital health · 2024Article
- Article
- Monitored Implementation of COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Screening at Taxi Ranks in Johannesburg, South Africa.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- A mobile phone application for malaria case-based reporting to advance malaria surveillance in Myanmar: a mixed methods evaluation.Malaria journal · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAs surveillance is a key strategy for malaria elimination in South Africa, ensuring strong surveillance systems is a National Department of Health priority. Historically, real time tracking of case trends and reporting within 24 h-a requirement in South Africa's National surveillance guidelines-has not been possible. To enhance surveillance and response efficiency, a mobile surveillance tool, MalariaConnect, was developed using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology. It was rolled out in health facilities in malaria endemic areas of South Africa to provide 24-h reporting of malaria cases.
methodsTo evaluate the efficiency of the mobile tool to detect an outbreak data were extracted from the paper based and MalariaConnect reporting systems in Bushbuckridge from 1 January to 18 June 2017. These data were subject to time series analyses to determine if MalariaConnect provided sufficient data reliably to detect increasing case trends reported through the paper system. The Chi squared test was used to determine goodness of fit between the following indicator data generated using MalariaConnect and paper reporting systems: timeliness, completeness, and precision.
resultsMalariaConnect adequately tracked case trends reported through the paper system. Timeliness of reporting increased significantly using MalariaConnect with 0.63 days to notification compared to 5.65 days using the paper-system (p < 0.05). The completeness of reporting was significantly higher for the paper system (100% completion; p < 0.05), compared to confirmed MalariaConnect cases (61%). There was a moderate association between data precision and the reporting system (p < 0.05). MalariaConnect provided an effective way of reliably and accurately identifying the onset of the malaria outbreak in Bushbuckridge.
conclusionTimeliness significantly improved using MalariaConnect and in a malaria elimination setting, can be used to markedly improve case investigation and response activities within the recommended 72-h period. Although data completeness and precision were lower compared to paper reporting, MalariaConnect data can be used to trigger outbreak responses.
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