Sources of Public Health Data Flashcards
What are Epidemiological Surveillance Systems?
The systematic collection of data pertaining to the occurrence of specific diseases, the analysis and interpretation of these data, and the dissemination of consolidated and processed information to contributors to the program and other interested persons.
What are Surveillance systems used to monitor disease trends and plan public health programs?
Vital statistics
Disease reporting systems
Surveys
What are some more specialized surveillance systems?
Sentinel surveillance (disease-specific)
Zoonotic disease surveillance
Adverse events surveillance
Syndromic surveillance
Disease registries
Laboratory surveillance
In United States, where are vital statistics available from?
National Center for Health Statistics
State vital records offices
CDC WONDER – online system containing data on births, deaths, many diseases from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
What are vital events and what does the registration system do?
deaths, births, marriages, divorces, and fetal deaths (≥28 weeks pregnancy)
The vital registration system in the United States collects information routinely on these events.
what collects national birth and death statistics?
Vital and Health Statistics Series
National Death Index
What are some limitations to mortality data?
Chronic illnesses
Multiple causes of death
Lack of standardization of diagnosis criteria
Stigmas attached to certain diseases
Completeness of records
Changes in ICD codes over time
Who complies and publishes national mortality rates?
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
Death certificate data in the United States include the following information:
Demographic characteristics (e.g., age)
Date and place of death (e.g., hospital)
Cause of death (i.e., immediate cause and contributing factors)
What demographic characteristics are typically recorded in death certificates?
age
sex
race
What causes death are typically recorded in death certificates?
cause of death
immediate cause
contributing factors
What do birth statistics include and what are they used for?
Include live births and fetal deaths
Presumed to be nearly complete
Used to calculate birth rates
Helpful in understanding birth defects, length of gestation, birth weight, and demographic background of the mother
What does the U.S. bureau of the census provide?
data that can be used to define the denominator in rates
Official estimates of total population size and subdivisions of the population by geographic area
Census conducted every 10 years
What does public health surveillance refer to?
the systematic and continuous gathering of information about the occurrence of diseases and other health phenomena
The process of ascertainment of cases of disease in a population or community
Passive or Active
What is passive surveillance?
Based on data reported by health care providers
Commonly used for infectious diseases (Notifiable Diseases)
Subject to underreporting and incompleteness
Local outbreaks may be missed
Inexpensive
What is active surveillance?
Field workers make periodic visits to clinics and hospitals to collect data on incident cases
Very useful if an outbreak is suspected or begun to keep track of the number of cases
It is often more complete than passive surveillance
Relatively expensive and requires more time
What does the disease reporting systems in the United States provide?
Disease reporting is mandated by state law
List of reportable diseases varies by state
States report nationally notifiable diseases to CDC on voluntary basis
List of notifiable diseases updated regularly by Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and CDC
What does the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) do?`
By legal statute, physicians and other healthcare providers must report cases of certain diseases, known as reportable and notifiable diseases, to health authorities.
Usually infectious and communicable diseases that might endanger a population
What is sentinel surveillance?
Alternative to population-based surveillance
Involves collecting data from sample of reporting sites (sentinel sites)
~Selected health care providers
~Used by disease programs such as HIV and malaria
Allows states to monitor trends using relatively small amount of information
What is syndromic surveillance?
Describes “…using health-related data that precede diagnosis and signal a sufficient probability of a case or an outbreak to warrant further public health response”
Relatively new surveillance method
Uses clinical information about disease signs and symptoms, before diagnosis is made
Often use electronic data from hospital emergency rooms
What are some examples of syndromic surveillance?
New York City operates syndromic surveillance system
~Emergency department chief-complaint data from approximately 44 hospitals
In 2002, system detected higher than usual number of diarrheal and vomiting symptoms
Health department notified hospital emergency departments of possible outbreak
~Collected stool specimens, several tested positive for norovirus
What are the Adverse Event Reporting system (AERS) and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) used for?
Adverse event is ‘any unfavorable and unintended sign (e.g., an abnormal laboratory finding), symptom, or disease temporally associated with the use of a medicinal product, combination product, or medical device, whether or not considered related to the product’
Same for the VAERS, but for adverse events reportable specifically attributable to receiving a vaccine
Any healthcare provider and/or member of the public and submit an AERS/VAERS report
What are some examples of surveys and data collection systems from the national center for health statistics (NCHS)?
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)
What is the national health interview survey (NHIS)?
The NCHS conducts the NHIS, which has been in operation since 1957.
Data from the NHIS are used for monitoring how well the nation is progressing toward specific health objectives as well as for tracking people’s health status and access to health care.
The goal of the survey is to collect data from a representative sample of the U.S. population.
