Notification of rheumatic fever in South Africa - evidence for underreporting by health care professionals and administrators

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dc.contributor.authorNkgudi, Boitumelo
dc.contributor.authorRobertson, Kate A
dc.contributor.authorVolmink, Jimmy
dc.contributor.authorMayosi, Bongani M
dc.date.accessioned2017-06-21T08:44:38Z
dc.date.available2017-06-21T08:44:38Z
dc.date.issued2006
dc.date.updated2016-01-12T08:02:51Z
dc.description.abstractObjective. To determine whether under-reporting of rheumatic fever occurs at hospital, municipal, provincial and national levels of the South African health system. Background. Information on the incidence of rheumatic fever (RF) and the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is required for the prevention of valvular heart disease in developing countries. In South Africa, RF was made a notifiable condition in 1989. It has recently been suggested that the reporting of RF cases may be incomplete, possibly because of underreporting by health care professionals and deficient administration of the disease notification system in South Africa. Method and results. We assessed whether underreporting of RF cases occurs by comparing the numbers of RF cases reported per year at hospital, municipal, provincial and national levels from 1990 to 2004. There was a fall in the number of RF cases reported per year at national and provincial level over the 15 years of observation. A detailed analysis of the number of RF cases reported at hospital, municipal and provincial level for a 5-year period showed that more cases were diagnosed in one hospital (serving a smaller population) than were captured at municipal and provincial level (serving a larger population), suggesting underreporting by health care professionals. There were discrepancies in the number of cases reported at municipal, provincial and national level, suggesting poor administration of the notification system. Conclusion. There appears to be underreporting of RF cases by health care professionals, and poor administration of the RF notification system. Health care professionals need to be educated about the statutory requirement to notify all RF cases in South Africa. An effective national disease notification system is required.
dc.identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.1008
dc.identifier.apacitationNkgudi, B., Robertson, K. A., Volmink, J., & Mayosi, B. M. (2006). Notification of rheumatic fever in South Africa - evidence for underreporting by health care professionals and administrators. <i>South African Medical Journal</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24596en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationNkgudi, Boitumelo, Kate A Robertson, Jimmy Volmink, and Bongani M Mayosi "Notification of rheumatic fever in South Africa - evidence for underreporting by health care professionals and administrators." <i>South African Medical Journal</i> (2006) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24596en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationNkgudi, B., Robertson, K., Volmink, J., & Mayosi, B. (2006). Notification of rheumatic fever in South Africa - evidence for underreporting by health care professionals and administrators. South African Medical Journal, 96(3), 206.
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Nkgudi, Boitumelo AU - Robertson, Kate A AU - Volmink, Jimmy AU - Mayosi, Bongani M AB - Objective. To determine whether under-reporting of rheumatic fever occurs at hospital, municipal, provincial and national levels of the South African health system. Background. Information on the incidence of rheumatic fever (RF) and the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is required for the prevention of valvular heart disease in developing countries. In South Africa, RF was made a notifiable condition in 1989. It has recently been suggested that the reporting of RF cases may be incomplete, possibly because of underreporting by health care professionals and deficient administration of the disease notification system in South Africa. Method and results. We assessed whether underreporting of RF cases occurs by comparing the numbers of RF cases reported per year at hospital, municipal, provincial and national levels from 1990 to 2004. There was a fall in the number of RF cases reported per year at national and provincial level over the 15 years of observation. A detailed analysis of the number of RF cases reported at hospital, municipal and provincial level for a 5-year period showed that more cases were diagnosed in one hospital (serving a smaller population) than were captured at municipal and provincial level (serving a larger population), suggesting underreporting by health care professionals. There were discrepancies in the number of cases reported at municipal, provincial and national level, suggesting poor administration of the notification system. Conclusion. There appears to be underreporting of RF cases by health care professionals, and poor administration of the RF notification system. Health care professionals need to be educated about the statutory requirement to notify all RF cases in South Africa. An effective national disease notification system is required. DA - 2006 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - South African Medical Journal LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2006 T1 - Notification of rheumatic fever in South Africa - evidence for underreporting by health care professionals and administrators TI - Notification of rheumatic fever in South Africa - evidence for underreporting by health care professionals and administrators UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24596 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/24596
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationNkgudi B, Robertson KA, Volmink J, Mayosi BM. Notification of rheumatic fever in South Africa - evidence for underreporting by health care professionals and administrators. South African Medical Journal. 2006; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24596.en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Medicineen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceSouth African Medical Journal
dc.source.urihttp://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj
dc.subject.otherSouth Africa
dc.subject.otherRheumatic fever
dc.subject.otherUnderreporting
dc.subject.otherHealth care professionals
dc.subject.otherAdministrators
dc.titleNotification of rheumatic fever in South Africa - evidence for underreporting by health care professionals and administrators
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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