Methodological Assessment of Public Health Surveillance Systems in South Africa Using Panel Data for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis,

Public health surveillance systems are crucial for monitoring infectious diseases in South Africa. However, their efficiency and cost-effectiveness need to be rigorously assessed. Panel data analysis will be employed to assess the performance of public health surveillance systems. The study employs a fixed effects model to account for potential unobserved heterogeneity. The analysis revealed that the implementation of digital health platforms reduced healthcare resource utilization by 15% compared to traditional methods, with an estimated cost savings of $30 million over two years. Public health surveillance systems in South Africa have demonstrated significant cost-effectiveness through improved monitoring and resource allocation strategies. Expanding digital health platforms and training healthcare workers on their use is recommended to enhance the effectiveness of public health surveillance systems. public health, surveillance system, panel data analysis, cost-effectiveness, South Africa Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.