Abstract
Following an increase in the number of people diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis in November 2005, the Communicable Diseases Branch initiated enhanced surveillance using a developmental version of , an open-source, web-based data collection tool. We evaluated the usefulness of for enhanced surveillance, using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Updated Guidelines for Evaluating Public Health Surveillance Systems as a guide. Most staff (73 per cent) who used found it easy to use. Although ongoing support was thought to be adequate by 82 per cent of respondents who used , 36 per cent reported that training was limited and 27 per cent reported technical problems such as internet, server and password problems. In order to improve its usefulness in enhanced surveillance, training in should be enhanced and the stability of the system improved.
