The Utility of Infectious Disease Prevalence Studies to Inform Public Health Decision-Making in the Samoan Islands: A Systematic Review

TL;DR

This study reviews infectious disease prevalence in the Samoan Islands to assess how these data support public health decisions.

Contribution

The study highlights the value of integrated multipathogen surveillance for cost-effective and actionable public health strategies.

Findings

46 publications reported the prevalence of 15 different infectious diseases in the Samoan Islands.

Most studies aimed to inform public health interventions, emphasizing the utility of prevalence data.

One survey initially for leptospirosis was later used to study seven other diseases, showing the benefit of integrated approaches.

Abstract

We conducted a systematic review of infectious disease (ID) prevalence studies in the Samoan Islands from 2000 to 2024 and aimed to synthesise the prevalence of IDs, the purpose of the studies, and the potential utility of survey results for informing public health decision-making. We searched five academic databases, the Western Pacific Region Index Medicus, and grey literature up until April 2024. English language publications of ID surveys in American Samoa and Samoa were included. Each study’s aim, design, and prevalence results were extracted and categorised by disease and data sources. We identified 46 publications reporting the prevalence of 15 different IDs; 42 publications (91%) reported data from 31 original surveys, of which three (9%) investigated the prevalence of multiple IDs. Twenty-eight (62%) publications primarily aimed to report prevalence to inform public health interventions. Samples from one survey, initially conducted for leptospirosis, were subsequently tested to confirm transmission, describe prevalence, and investigate risk factors for seven other diseases. We emphasise the valuable contribution of prevalence studies in supporting evidence-based public health interventions. The extensive prevalence studies in the Samoan Islands illustrate the need for adopting integrated multipathogen approaches to surveillance to reduce costs, document burden, and generate actionable insights to support evidence-based decisions to prevent, control, and eliminate infectious diseases.

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