Tuberculosis Surveillance & Vital Registration Standards

15 items · Health · Medium difficulty · 30 min

Practical steps to strengthen TB surveillance and death registration systems.

• Establish legal and institutional responsibilities for TB surveillance and death registration

  Document roles, reporting lines, and authority across agencies.

• Define and publish clear TB case and death definitions

  Use consistent clinical, lab, and mortality criteria for reporting.

• Standardize and update reporting forms and electronic data fields

  Include essential fields and compatible formats for sharing.

• Collect complete demographic and risk-factor information for each case

  Include age, sex, residence, HIV status, and key risk factors.

• Implement or upgrade an electronic TB registry system

  Ensure a secure, searchable database with export features.

• Assign and apply unique identifiers to link patient and death records

  Use national ID or system-generated codes for consistent matching.

• Link TB surveillance data with national vital registration records

  Match records to identify TB deaths and gaps in reporting.

• Perform regular data quality checks and validation routines

  Check for duplicates, missing fields, and inconsistent dates.

• Reconcile case notifications with treatment and laboratory registers monthly

  Match notifications to treatment starts and lab confirmations.

• Estimate completeness of death registration and TB mortality records

  Use capture–recapture or other methods to assess missing deaths.

• Protect patient privacy and follow national data-sharing policies

  Limit access, anonymize exports, and secure approvals where needed.

• Train surveillance and registration staff on procedures and tools

  Include clinic, laboratory, and registry personnel in training.

• Schedule regular training sessions and refreshers

  Plan dates, trainers, topics, and virtual options.

• Record attendance and assess staff competency after training

  Keep certificates and short skills checklists for each trainee.

• Produce and publish regular surveillance reports and summaries

  Share trends, data quality issues, and recommended actions quarterly.

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