[A new method for evaluating malaria surveillance effectiveness--establishment and application of an index system].
OBJECTIVE
To establish a comprehensive index system which is suitable for evaluating the effectiveness of malaria surveillance schemes.


METHODS
Delphi method was used to screen the existed effectiveness evaluation indices by experts to determine key indices and weighted coefficients.


RESULTS
Three indices, i.e. autochthonous incidence, ratio of cases detected (ROCD) and ratio of introduced/imported cases were selected. Their weighted coefficients were 0.36, 0.31 and 0.33, respectively. An index system named the malaria surveillance effectiveness index (MSEI) was built up and formulated as [formula: see text] which was applied to study cost-effectiveness of the two malaria surveillance schemes (A and B). According to the formula, the MSEIs in the study areas using the schemes A and B were 48.56 and 45.93, respectively. However, the cost for increasing a score of MSEI by implementing the scheme A was four times as high as that by implementing the scheme B.


CONCLUSIONS
The MSEI is practicable for evaluating the overall effectiveness of malaria surveillance schemes, especially in the cost-effectiveness analysis and health-economic evaluation.
Zhou
S
S
Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Shanghai 200025.
Tang
L
L
Qian
H
H
Zheng
X
X
Luo
M
M
D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003697:Delphi Technique; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance