Tropical Epidemiology: A System for Continuous Demographic Monitoring of a Study Population

Abstract:

Epidemiologists in many developing countries, where official demographic services are unavailable, have to include some demographic functions in their work. The usual method of documenting a study population for epidemiological research in a developing country consists of three stages: mapping, enumeration and vital registration. This paper considers the last element of this process, detailing the development of a suitable data system and explaining how its implementation using microcomputers and a database management system can help in the creation of an on-line continuous vital registration system for a study population as an epidemiological tool. The issues covered are data collection, entry and analysis, and the advantages of such a system for use in epidemiological research in developing countries are also discussed.

Key-Words:

Data Collection - Microcomputers - Tropical Epidemiology - Demographic Monitoring

• REFERENCES

• 1 Smith PG, Morrow R. ed Field Trials of Interventions against Tropical Diseases . Geneva: World Health Organization; 1988
• 2 Greenwood AM, Greenwood BM, Bradley AK, Williams K, Shenton FC, Tulloch S, Byass P, Oldfield FSJ. A prospective survey of the outcome of pregnancy in a rural area of The Gambia. Bull WHO 1987; 65: 635-43.
• 3 Greenwood BM, Bradley AK, Greenwood AM, Byass P, Jammeh K, Marsh K, Tulloch S, Oldfield FSJ, Hayes R. Mortality and morbidity from malaria among children in a rural area of The Gambia, West Africa. Trans Roy Soc Trop Med 1987; 81: 478-86.
• 4 Rowan KM, Byass P, Snow RW. On-line tropical epidemiology – a case study from The Gambia. Meth Inform Med 1987; 26: 73-6.
• 5 dBase II Assembly Language Relational Database Management System. Culver City, CA: Ashton-Tate Books; 1982
• 6 De Pace M. Working with dBase II. London: Granada; 1984
• 7 Marinez YN, McMahan CA, Barnwell GM, Wigodsky HS. Ensuring data quality in medical research through an integrated data management system. Statist Med 1984; 3: 101-11.
• 8 Byass P. The design of computer forms for tropical medical research. Meth Inform Med 1986; 25: 229-32.
• 9 Bradley AK, Macfarlane SBJ, Moody JB, Giles HM, Mousa BD. Malumfashi Endemic Diseases Research Project, XXI Some aspects of the collection of demographic data. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 1982; 76: 381-91.
• 10 Van Ginneken JK, Muller AS. ed Maternal and Child Health in Rural Kenya. . London: Croom Helm; 1984
• 11 Garenne M. Elements for an evaluation of the impact of a food supplementation programme on child mortality in rural West Africa. IUSSP Seminar on Micro-approaches to the Assessment of the Demographic Impact of Development Activities. London, May. 1985
• 12 The Republic of The Gambia, Population and Housing Census 1983. General Report, Vol 1. The Gambia: Central Statistics Department; October 1987
• 13 Hill AG, Graham WG. A Comparative Review of the Sources of Health and Mortality Information in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia and Sierra Leone. . IDRC Technical Report. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre; 1987