The completeness of the population coverage affects the representativeness of the data
Content of the Data
Vital statistics
Surveillance
Reportable disease
Case registries
Representativeness of Data
Refers to the generalizability of the findings of an epidemiologic study to the population
Sources of Data
1. Health Insurance programs
2. Registries
3. Specialized morbidity surveys
4. Surveillance programs
5. US census
6. Vital events
Crude Birth rate
Number of live births during a specified period of time per the resident population during the midpoint of the time period
Fetal Death Rate
Number of fetal deaths after 20 weeks or more gestation divided by the number of live births plus fetal deaths after 20 weeks or more gestation during a year
General fertility rate
Numbe of live biths reported in an area during a given time interval divided by the number of woman aged 14-44 years in that area.
Infant mortality rate
Number of infant deaths among infants aged 0 to 365 days during a year divided by the number of live births during the same year.
Life expectancy
Number of years that a person is expected to live, at any particular year
Maternal Mortality Rate
Number of maternal deaths ascribed to childbirth dvided by the number of live births times 100,00 live births during a year
Online Sources
1. Google
2. CDC
3. MEDLINE
4. APHA
5. Society for Epidemiologic Research
6. WHO
Google
Rapid access to epidemiologic documents and links
CDC
Federal government's publications related to infectious and chronic diseases
MEDLINE
Site for performing bibliographic searches of health related literature
APHA
Epidemiologic Research
Society for Epidemiologic Research
American Journal of Epidemiology
WHO
Provides data on the occurrence of morbidity and mortality.
HIPPA act
Protects personal information contained in health records
US Census
Provides data that can be used to define the denominator in rates. Conducted every 10 years.
Vital Registration System
Collect data of vital events
Vital Events
Births
Deaths
Marriages
Divorce
Fetal Deaths
Death Certificates
Signed by- ME or Attending physician
Local Registrar- Checks certificate for completeness and accuracy sends copy to state registrar
State registrar- Checks certificate for completeness and accuracy sends copy to NCHS.
NCHS- Compiles and publishes national mortality rates
Data contained in Death Certificates
Age
Sex
Race
Place and date of death
Cause of death
Accuracy of Cause of Death
Primary COD may not be clear
Birth Certificates
Include live births and fetal deaths
Used to calcualte birth rates
Affected by mother's ability to recall events during pregnancy
Public Health Surveillance Programs Examples
1. Communicable and Infectious Disease
2. Non-infectious disease
3. Risk factors for chronic disease
Public Health Surveillance Programs
Refers to the systematic and continuous gathering of information about the occurrence of diseases and other health phenomenon.
Syndromic Suveillance
Using health-realted data that precede diagnosis and signal a sufficient probablity of a case or an outbreak to warrant further public health response.
BRFSS
used to monitor state level behavior risk
Reportable and Notifiable Diseases
AIDS
STDs
Rubella
Tetanus
Measles
Plague
Foodborne Illness
Case Registries
A centrailized database for collection of information about a disease.
Case Registry Examples
SEER
NPCR
Late Fetal Death Rate
Number of fetal deaths after 28 weeks gestation divided by the number of live births plus fetal deaths after 28 weeks gestation during a year
Perinatal Mortality Rate
Number of late fetal deaths after 28 weeks gestation plus infant deaths within 7 days of birth divided by the number o flive births plus the number of late fetal deaths in a given year.