Epidemiology and health surveillance: synergies and challenges in a changing world

In this essay, we discuss the challenges related to the interaction between epidemiology and health policies, programs, and services, with a particular focus on health surveillance. Although the scope of health surveillance encompasses knowledge beyond epidemiology, the use of epidemiological knowledge is paramount for enhancing the quality of its actions. We present the trajectory of the institutionalization process of health surveillance in Brazil, which culminated in the establishment of the National Health Surveillance Policy (PNVS) in 2018. The PNVS highlights a series of needs that can and should be addressed by epidemiology. These needs offer opportunities for greater interaction between epidemiology and health policies, programs, and services, but they require an update in epidemiology training models, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, a greater appreciation for knowledge translation activities, and an improved alignment of the academic environment with advances in health surveillance policies in Brazil. Based on the analysis of Brazilian articles on health surveillance listed in the PubMed database, as well as data from research lines, projects, and theses and dissertations from graduate programs, we evaluate how the topic of health surveillance is integrated into research and graduate education in Collective Health in Brazil. We conclude this essay by discussing the contribution of the Fifth Strategic Plan for the Development of Epidemiology in Brazil (2025-2029) for strengthening health surveillance.