SURVEILLANCE & MEASURES OF MORBIDITY
Objectives
Define and discuss disease surveillance
Understand the importance of surveillance in controlling COVID-19
Introduce measures of morbidity
Surveillance
Refers to the "ongoing systematic, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data essential to the
planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice closely integrated with the
timely dissemination of these data to those who need to know" CDC
In short:
o Monitoring disease, illness, and injury
Changes in disease frequency
Changes in level of risk factors
o In order to plan, execute, and evaluate prevention efforts
Passive Surveillance
Available data on reportable diseases is used
o Reported by health care providers and institutions that see patients
Data may not be complete or incomplete
o Why?
Inexpensive and easy and develop
Active Surveillance
Epidemiologists travel to health care facilities and other locations to identify cases of disease
o Interviews of health care providers and patients
o Surveying geographic areas
More accurate
More expensive
Harder to develop
Surveillance Of Behaviors
Surveillance In Low-Income Countries
Difficulty in reaching geographically remote areas
Difficult to maintain communication between policy makers and people in the filed
Defining cases may be difficult due to lack of resources
o Equipment and clinical spaces
World Health Organization (WHO)
Epidemic and Pandemic Alert Response (EPR)
o Difficult given global politics
o Technical challenges
Surveillance & COVID-19
Key Objectives Of Surveillance Of COVID-19
1. To monitor the geographic spread and intensity of Covid in the US and around the world
o Estimate the burden of disease
o Assess the direction of recent time trends
2. To understand disease severity and the spectrum of illness
o Monitor viral changes to inform drug and vaccine development
3. To understand risk factors for severe disease transmission
o Better target prevention efforts
Objectives
Define and discuss disease surveillance
Understand the importance of surveillance in controlling COVID-19
Introduce measures of morbidity
Surveillance
Refers to the "ongoing systematic, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data essential to the
planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice closely integrated with the
timely dissemination of these data to those who need to know" CDC
In short:
o Monitoring disease, illness, and injury
Changes in disease frequency
Changes in level of risk factors
o In order to plan, execute, and evaluate prevention efforts
Passive Surveillance
Available data on reportable diseases is used
o Reported by health care providers and institutions that see patients
Data may not be complete or incomplete
o Why?
Inexpensive and easy and develop
Active Surveillance
Epidemiologists travel to health care facilities and other locations to identify cases of disease
o Interviews of health care providers and patients
o Surveying geographic areas
More accurate
More expensive
Harder to develop
Surveillance Of Behaviors
Surveillance In Low-Income Countries
Difficulty in reaching geographically remote areas
Difficult to maintain communication between policy makers and people in the filed
Defining cases may be difficult due to lack of resources
o Equipment and clinical spaces
World Health Organization (WHO)
Epidemic and Pandemic Alert Response (EPR)
o Difficult given global politics
o Technical challenges
Surveillance & COVID-19
Key Objectives Of Surveillance Of COVID-19
1. To monitor the geographic spread and intensity of Covid in the US and around the world
o Estimate the burden of disease
o Assess the direction of recent time trends
2. To understand disease severity and the spectrum of illness
o Monitor viral changes to inform drug and vaccine development
3. To understand risk factors for severe disease transmission
o Better target prevention efforts
