Data quality monitoring and surveillance system evaluation - A handbook of methods and applications

​In 2010, ECDC conducted a survey among national surveillance coordinators which revealed substantial differences in practices with regard to monitoring data quality in EU Member States. A proposal to improve data comparability in the EU was presented to the ECDC Advisory Forum on 5 May 2011. Subsequently, a working group of 22 disease surveillance experts from 16 countries was established, with a mandate to develop a handbook on data quality monitoring and surveillance system evaluation.
The overall objective of this project was to support processes for monitoring data quality and evaluating surveillance systems in EU/EEA Member States in order to provide accurate and timely information for decision-making. The handbook is aimed to support the daily work of public health professionals working with surveillance data on communicable diseases.