Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39801823›Full record

ArticleChina CDC weekly2025

Assessment of the Public Health Laboratory Capacity - Sierra Leone, 2021.

Esther Debora Ngegba, Fengfeng Liu, Canjun Zheng, Alie Brima Tia, Chunchun Zhao, Chuizhao Xue, Lili Wang, Xiaopeng Qi, Anitta Kamara, Sheku Mustapha and 4 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in China CDC weekly, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Esther Debora NgegbaDepartment of Global Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Fengfeng LiuDepartment of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Canjun ZhengKey Laboratory of Surveillance and Early-Warning on Infectious Disease, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Alie Brima TiaSierra Leone-China Friendship Biological Safety Laboratory, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Chunchun ZhaoNational Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Chuizhao XueNational Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai, China.
Lili WangCenter for Global Public Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Xiaopeng QiCenter for Global Public Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Anitta KamaraMinistry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Sheku MustaphaSierra Leone-China Friendship Biological Safety Laboratory, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Junling SunKey Laboratory of Surveillance and Early-Warning on Infectious Disease, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Mohamed Alex VandiMinistry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Doris HardingMinistry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Fuqiang CuiDepartment of Global Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.

Funding

Gates Foundation INV-003421
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

What is already known about this topic?: Public health laboratories (PHLs) are critical for effectively identifying, detecting, preventing, and responding to emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Following the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Sierra Leone implemented a national laboratory strategic plan (2015-2020) aimed at creating, strengthening, and maintaining laboratory capacities for detecting, assessing, notifying, and reporting incidents, with a requirement to review PHL capabilities every five years. What is added by this report?: This study assessed the comprehensive capacity and personnel status of PHLs in Sierra Leone using a standardized assessment tool following the implementation of the 2015 National Laboratory Strategic Plan. Among 11 indicators evaluated, laboratory infrastructure and equipment, data and information management, experimental technical training, and laboratory performance received low scores. The assessment revealed critical personnel gaps, including limited staff with extensive work experience and advanced education. Additionally, laboratory staff demonstrated limited capabilities in specialized areas such as gene library creation, primer design, sequencing, surveillance, and field epidemiology and laboratory-related training. What are the implications for public health practice?: Continued investment and capacity building are essential for PHLs to deliver high-quality testing services and effectively support public health functions. The identified gaps across various indicators must be systematically addressed to strengthen PHL capacity in Sierra Leone.

Indexed as

AssessmentInfectious diseasesLaboratory capacityPublic health laboratories

Identifiers

PMID39801823
PMCPMC11718373

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.