Establishing a community event-based surveillance system in Kadoma City, Zimbabwe: a mixed-methods study protocol

The public health surveillance and response systems in Kadoma primarily rely on indicator-based surveillance (IBS), contributing to delayed detection and response to outbreaks. This protocol outlines the establishment of a Community Event-Based Surveillance (CEBS) system using the One Health approach to complement the existing IBS and enhance early identification and response to public health threats in Kadoma.

A mixed-methods approach will be used to establish and evaluate a CEBS system in Kadoma. The system set-up will follow the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) Event-Based Surveillance Framework guidelines. Healthcare personnel, community health workers (CHWs) and representatives from the animal health and environmental sectors will be trained in signal detection, triage, reporting and response. A preliminary evaluation will be conducted 5 months after implementation to assess system performance, including the frequency and verification of signals, the types of events detected, response timeliness and system acceptability. The full evaluation of the CEBS system is scheduled for September 2026, 3 years postimplementation, guided by the updated CDC guidelines for evaluating public health surveillance systems.

Authority to establish, evaluate and publish the protocol for the CEBS system in Kadoma was sought and obtained from the Kadoma City Health Department and its Institutional Review Board (IRB) (IRB number: Mun/08/23). The surveillance system set-up process will be conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and the Belmont Report and in compliance with local ethical standards. Findings will be shared with stakeholders through formal reports and community feedback channels.