ArticleFrontiers in public health2025
Improving the specimen referral system in Ghana: findings from a landscape assessment.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Preparedness of the Ghana Health Service for field epidemiology and applied biostatistics: a systematic review protocol of infectious disease surveillance, outbreak investigation methodologies, and statistical modeling capacities in resource-limited settings.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Timeliness of yellow fever specimen collection and transport in Ghana, 2018-2022.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
14 authors.
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Abstract
Introduction: Ghana's specimen referral system (SRS) is driven by vertical surveillance programs and outbreak response events; the lack of integration limits public health disease surveillance capacity. We assessed the current state of the SRS, the existence of biosafety, biosecurity guidelines, and the turnaround time (TAT) from sample collection to result return. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey using the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) specimen referral tool in nine regions. A total of 265 health facilities were selected using multistage sampling. Surveillance officers, health directors, laboratory scientists, and specimen transporters were purposively selected for interviews. Also, records on SRS performance were reviewed. Results: A Discussion: Ghana has many pathways for transporting specimens within the disease surveillance system at no cost to patients; however, notable weaknesses exist. Inadequate resources for transportation and lack of adherence to biosafety guidelines remain major challenges. These inefficiencies in the SRS could impact the timely detection and response to health threats and may increase the risk of diseases spreading within and beyond Ghana's borders.
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