Evaluation of Completeness and Geographical Representativeness of the Public Health Surveillance System for Hepatitis B between 2007 and 2013 in Hamadan Province: An Analytical Literature Review

This study was conducted to evaluate the completeness and geographical representativeness of the hepatitis B surveillance system between 2007 and 2013 in Hamadan Province. In this descriptive study, all reported cases in Hamadan Province were extracted. The analytical literature review method was used to examine completeness. We used studies on the prevalence and incidence of hepatitis in Iran published between 2007 and 2013. Sensitivity analysis of the results was performed by simulation program using the R software. Geographical representativeness was assessed and plotted by the ArcGIS software, as well. Totally, 1378 cases were reported to the hepatitis B surveillance system in Hamadan Province. Most cases were from urban areas and were men, married, and housewives mostly in the age group 20 to 29 and 30 to 39 years. Completeness of the hepatitis B surveillance system was 77%. The hepatitis B surveillance system was not representative in terms of occupation but was representative in terms of age, sex, marital status, and place of living. We concluded that the hepatitis B surveillance system had a relatively good performance. Moreover, findings of the analytical literature review method are affected by the included studies and interpretation of the results should be performed with caution.