Table 2.

Knowledge of health facility and TB programme staff of the purpose and use of the TB surveillance system in SA^⋆

Purpose of TB surveillance	Health facility staff (N=91) n (%)	Subdistrict staff (N =10) n (%)	District staff (N =12) n (%)	Provincial/ national staff (N =6) n (%)	Total (N =119) n (%)
Measure disease burden; identify high-risk areas or populations†	15 (16.5)	1 (10.0)	3 (25.0)	0 (0.0)	19 (16.0)
Monitor disease trends†	6 (6.6)	2 (20.0)	1 (8.3)	1 (16.7)	10 (8.4)
Inform and guide resource allocation†	6 (6.6)	1 (10.0)	2 (16.7)	2 (33.3)	11 (9.2)
Guide planning, implementation, evaluation of programme†	54 (59.3)	8 (80.0)	9 (75.0)	6 (100.0)	77 (64.7)
Foundation for programme research†	6 (6.6)	1 (10.0)	2 (16.7)	1 (16.7)	10 (8.4)
Inform immediate public health action†	0 (0.0)	1 (10.0)	1 (8.3)	0 (0.0)	2 (1.7)
Identify and trace defaulters	12 (13.2)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	1 (16.7)	13 (10.9)
Prevent or cure TB	23 (25.3)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	23 (19.3)

^⋆The questions were open-ended; categories are not mutually exclusive.

^†Public health surveillance purpose and objectives defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.^[1]