On the British Virgin Islands, a Mobile Application for Detailed Investigation of Critical Communicable Diseases

The government of the British Virgin Islands requires that all private and public medical clinics, hospitals and other sentinel sites, complete and immediately report to the Ministry of Health detailed investigation forms of suspected cases of Measles/Rubella, HIV, TB and Polio. Today, this is a manual process, with paper forms, that is inaccurate, often not completed, and does not correctly reflect outbreaks of cases of Measles/Rubella, HIV, TB and Polio in the citizens of the BVI.

In the summer of 2018, the Ministry of Health, with support from local and international nonprofit organizations, conducted a survey evaluating the capacity of BVI's Communicable Disease Surveillance Systems, and outlined a few approaches to address the need for implementation of capacity-supporting technology and community-engagement toolkits to facilitate technical, emergency, funding, volunteer, resource, technical, and deployment support. The report found six major areas of shortfall that contribute to significant inefficiencies and shortcomings of the current system and included a strong recommendation that the Ministry of Health implement an appropriate (efficient, effective, and value-for-money) health information system that:

1. Replaces the current paper-based process;
2. Provides accurate and complete health reporting;
3. Enables the tracking (and reporting) of communicable diseases in the BVI;
4. Enables accurate regional reporting.

This project (one of the winners of the call for proposals for the implementation of IS4H projects promoted by the Pan American Health Organization) focuses on addressing each of these points, placing an emphasis on efficiency, accuracy, and visibility of data collection processes. This specific project focuses on automating the capture and reporting of the number of specific communicable disease patients visiting private and public clinics and hospitals in the BVI.

When implemented, the project will increase the completion of detailed investigation forms for suspected cases of Measles/Rubella, HIV, TB and Polio; Enforce the immediate reporting by private and public clinics and the hospital in the BVI for suspected cases of Measles/Rubella, HIV, TB and Polio; and provide greater visibility and actionable data to the Ministry of Health, CARPHA and other organizations into the current and periodic status of outbreaks of Measles/Rubella, HIV, TB and Polio in the BVI.