Role of Health Information Specialists in Disease Surveillance in Nigerian Teaching Hospitals

This study investigated the role of health information specialists in disease surveillance activities within selected Nigerian teaching hospitals. Disease surveillance depends on the timely collection, analysis, and dissemination of health data, and health information specialists are positioned to contribute significantly to this function. A qualitative case study design was employed, and data were gathered through in-depth interviews with health information managers, epidemiologists, and hospital administrators in four teaching hospitals located in Enugu, Kano, Lagos, and Benin City. Findings revealed that health information specialists participated in data collection and report preparation but were rarely involved in epidemiological analysis or inter-agency information sharing. Their roles were largely clerical, constrained by institutional structures that did not recognise their analytical capacity. The study recommended a formal redefinition of the health information specialist role to include active participation in epidemiological teams, targeted training in public health informatics, and the development of information sharing protocols between hospital information units and national disease surveillance systems. Keywords: health information specialists, disease surveillance, teaching hospitals, Nigeria, public health informatics.