Abstract
The global burden of infectious disease outbreaks has intensified in recent decades, driven by urbanization, climate change, and increased human-animal interactions, necessitating robust disease surveillance and notification systems. Disease surveillance and notification systems are critical for public health management because they provide the means for early detection and prompt response to epidemic outbreaks. The research work was conducted to Influence of Disease Surveillance and Notification on Control of Epidemic Outbreak in Ife East Local Government Area, of Osun State. This study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design with a mixed-methods approach. The study population consisted of 194 health professionals selected from the target wards in Ife East Local Government. A total enumeration approach was adopted for this study. This study employed a multi-stage sampling technique to ensure a systematic, unbiased, and representative selection of respondents. A combination of a questionnaire, interview and checklist was carefully designed as the research instruments for this study. The questionnaire was analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, and Spearman’s correlation coefficient with the aid of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. The interview questions were analyzed using thematic analysis. The study found that epidemic control activities were generally present across facilities in Ife East LGA, with strong agreement on the presence of Standard operating Procedure (mean = 3.31, SD = 0.90), preparedness drills (mean = 3.27, SD = 0.84), and training (mean = 3.38, SD = 0.87). However, community health education was less consistent (mean = 3.04, SD = 0.98), showing a notable outreach gap. Surveillance systems integrated passive (mean = 3.10, SD = 0.99) and active (mean = 3.30, SD = 0.92) approaches, supported by lab diagnostics (mean = 3.41, SD = 0.90) and outbreak investigations (mean = 3.35, SD = 0.94). Respondents affirmed the importance of surveillance in early outbreak detection and epidemic preparedness. Major barriers included workforce shortages (91.2%), training gaps (89.0%), poor infrastructure, and weak feedback systems (70.3%). These challenges significantly undermine surveillance efficiency. A significant positive correlation (ρ = .563, p< .01) confirmed that stronger surveillance systems lead to better epidemic control outcomes. The study confirmed that effective disease surveillance and notification systems play a vital role in controlling epidemic outbreaks Based on the conclusion, it is recommended The Ife East LGA Health Department and primary healthcare centers should intensify health education and public engagement to improve community awareness and participation in epidemic prevention and response.