Partners from the Burnet Institute, the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR), National Department of Health and the University of Papua New Guinea are working to understand how to better support local healthcare workers to overcome barriers to improve surveillance and response to vector-borne diseases in Papua New Guinea.
Through the STRIVE (Stronger surveillance for vector-borne pathogens) project, the team is identifying ways to strengthen frontline healthcare workers capacity to detect, track, and respond to emerging threats and local outbreaks of vector-borne diseases.
Published today in PLOS Global Public Health, the study is entitled Baseline assessment of front-line health system capacity in vector-borne disease surveillance and response in Papua New Guinea.
One of the study’s lead authors, Burnet researcher Rachael Farquhar, said that by strengthening local healthcare systems, healthcare workers would be better equipped to manage outbreaks.
“Surveillance is critical for the early detection and containment of outbreaks,” she said.
“By applying a health systems lens, we identified practical ways to support healthcare workers to improve the availability, quality, and use of data for real-time decision-making.”
The study highlights that strengthening existing systems and investing in local health workers and provincial health roles are key to embedding new skills and technology that enhance surveillance for malaria and other vector-borne diseases.
Zebedee Kerry, lead author from PNGIMR, said upskilling frontline healthcare workers was crucial to ensuring timely responses to outbreaks.
“By investing in the capacity of frontline healthcare workers in reporting, notification, and response to vector-borne diseases, we can better equip them to manage febrile illnesses, respond to early outbreaks, and contribute to a more resilient health system,” he said.
Ms Farquhar emphasised the importance of finding space and platforms to work with healthcare providers to collectively interpret and act on real-time disease data.
“Providing targeted training, ongoing support, and creating regular forums to collectively review and discuss data are critical steps to ensure healthcare workers and provincial health teams can respond effectively as new information emerges,” she said.
STRIVE is supported by the Australian Government through the Partnerships for a Healthy Region Initiative.
