A severe diarrhoeal outbreak in a remote Pacific island community, Anuta Island, Solomon Islands, April-June 2019.

Context: Solomon Islands is a small developing island state located in the south-western Pacific Ocean. A population of approximately 680 000 people live on more than one-third of the 992 islands that make up the country. Approximately 80% of the population reside in rural areas, many in remote, difficult to reach and poorly serviced island settings.

Epidemic surveillance in a low resource setting: lessons from an evaluation of the Solomon Islands syndromic surveillance system, 2017.

Background: Solomon Islands is one of the least developed countries in the world. Recognising that timely detection of outbreaks is needed to enable early and effective response to disease outbreaks, the Solomon Islands government introduced a simple syndromic surveillance system in 2011. We conducted the first evaluation of the system and the first exploration of a national experience within the broader multi-country Pacific Syndromic Surveillance System to determine if it is meeting its objectives and to identify opportunities for improvement.

Towards effective outbreak detection: a qualitative study to identify factors affecting nurses' early warning surveillance practice in Solomon Islands.

Background: Intelligence generated by a surveillance system is dependent on the quality of data that are collected. We investigated the knowledge, attitudes and practices of nurses responsible for outbreak early warning surveillance data collection in Solomon Islands to identify factors that influence their ability to perform surveillance-related tasks with rigour.

Methods: We interviewed 12 purposively selected surveillance nurses and conducted inductive analysis on resulting data.

Enhanced surveillance during a public health emergency in a resource-limited setting: Experience from a large dengue outbreak in Solomon Islands, 2016-17.

Between August-2016 and April-2017, Solomon Islands experienced the largest and longest-running dengue outbreak on record in the country, with 12,329 suspected cases, 877 hospitalisations and 16 deaths. We conducted a retrospective review of related data and documents, and conducted key informant interviews to characterise the event and investigate the adaptability of syndromic surveillance for enhanced and expanded data collection during a public health emergency in a low resource country setting. While the outbreak quickly consumed available public and clinical resources, we found that authorities were able to scale up the conventional national syndrome-based early warning surveillance system to support the increased information demands during the event demonstrating the flexibility of the system and syndromic surveillance more broadly.

Enhanced syndromic surveillance for mass gatherings in the Pacific: a case study of the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts in Solomon Islands, 2012.

Mass gatherings pose public health challenges to host countries, as they can cause or exacerbate disease outbreaks within the host location or elsewhere. In July 2012, the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts (FOPA), a mass gathering event involving 22 Pacific island states and territories, was hosted by Solomon Islands. An enhanced syndromic surveillance (ESS) system was implemented for the event.

Vector-control response in a post-flood disaster setting, Honiara, Solomon Islands, 2014.

Problem: The close quartering and exposed living conditions in evacuation centres and the potential increase in vector density after flooding in Solomon Islands resulted in an increased risk of exposure for the occupants to vectorborne diseases.

Context: In April 2014, Solomon Islands experienced a flash flooding event that affected many areas and displaced a large number of people. In the capital, Honiara, nearly 10 000 people were housed in emergency evacuation centres at the peak of the post-flood emergency.

An outbreak investigation of scrub typhus in Western Province, Solomon Islands, 2014.

Objective: To identify the etiology and risk factors of undifferentiated fever in a cluster of patients in Western Province, Solomon Islands, May 2014.

Methods: An outbreak investigation with a case control study was conducted. A case was defined as an inpatient in one hospital in Western Province, Solomon Islands with high fever (> 38.

Increased Rotavirus Prevalence in Diarrheal Outbreak Precipitated by Localized Flooding, Solomon Islands, 2014.

Flooding on 1 of the Solomon Islands precipitated a nationwide epidemic of diarrhea that spread to regions unaffected by flooding and caused >6,000 cases and 27 deaths. Rotavirus was identified in 38% of case-patients tested in the city with the most flooding. Outbreak potential related to weather reinforces the need for global rotavirus vaccination.

Cross-sectional survey of the disaster preparedness of nurses across the Asia-Pacific region.

Healthcare workers who have received disaster preparedness education are more likely to report a greater understanding of disaster preparedness. However, research indicates that current nursing curricula do not adequately prepare nurses to respond to disasters. This is the first study to assess Asia-Pacific nurses' perceptions about their level of disaster knowledge, skills, and preparedness.