Surveillance Flashcards
(23 cards)
What is the primary function of surveillance in public health?
Monitoring, surveying, and controlling or preventing disease.
Surveillance helps in identifying and responding to health threats.
List the characteristics of public health surveillance systems.
- Sound theoretical basis
- Ongoing data activities
- Clear purpose of control or prevention of disease
- Regular reporting
These characteristics ensure the effectiveness and reliability of surveillance systems.
How many nationally notifiable diseases are there in Australia?
69
What is passive surveillance?
Routine collection of notifiable events
Underpinned by legislation and often verified by laboratory testing.
What is active surveillance?
Disease outbreaks and active case finding for environmental hazards
Involves proactive measures to identify cases.
What underpins passive surveillance?
Legislation
It ensures the collection of notifiable events is standardized and regulated.
What is often used to verify passive surveillance data?
Laboratory testing
This helps ensure the accuracy and reliability of collected data.
Fill in the blank: Active surveillance involves _______ for environmental hazards.
active case finding
True or False: Passive surveillance only collects data during disease outbreaks.
False
Passive surveillance collects data routinely, not just during outbreaks.
Special type of surveillance
Enhance surveillance
Sentinel surveillance
Rumour surveillance
What does the term ‘Enhance’ refer to in the context of surveillance?
Expanded case definitions
‘Enhance’ refers to broadening the criteria for identifying cases to improve detection.
What is Rumour Surveillance?
Monitoring of news media, chat lines, and Internet sites
Rumour surveillance involves tracking information from various media sources to identify public concerns or misinformation.
Sentinel surveillance
Monitoring of key areas of early warning
What is an outbreak?
More cases than routine surveillance
An outbreak signifies a situation where the number of cases exceeds what is normally expected in a specific area.
What is the first step in an outbreak investigation?
Establish a case definition
A case definition helps identify who is considered a case in the context of the outbreak.
What is the second step in an outbreak investigation?
Begin enhanced surveillance
Enhanced surveillance involves increased monitoring to detect more cases.
What is the third step in an outbreak investigation?
Formulate hypotheses
Hypotheses are educated guesses about the source and spread of the outbreak.
What is the fourth step in an outbreak investigation?
Collect clinical specimens
Clinical specimens are samples taken from affected individuals to identify the cause of the outbreak.
What is the fifth step in an outbreak investigation?
Prepare risk-exposure timeframe
This timeframe helps to understand when individuals were exposed to the causative agent.
What is the sixth step in an outbreak investigation?
Develop, test and deploy data collection tools
These tools are essential for gathering relevant information from the affected population.
What is the seventh step in an outbreak investigation?
Analyse the data
Data analysis helps in understanding the outbreak’s characteristics and trends.
What is the final step in an outbreak investigation?
Disseminate the information
Sharing findings is crucial for public health awareness and preventive measures.
Why is the maintenance of a healthy environment important?
It is important for infection control, PPE, quality and safety standards, work safe practices, food safety, and handling.
These aspects help prevent diseases and ensure the well-being of individuals in various environments.
