Justification
Within the Bureau of Disease Intervention Services at the New York City Department of Health (NYCDOH), several programs (e.g. TB, AIDS, and Communicable Diseases) conduct active surveillance. Each program sends different field staff to the same medical facilities to review the same medical records. In 1999, as part of a larger plan to integrate specific aspects of public health surveillance, NYCDOH piloted a hospital-based integrated data collection project at four NYC hospitals.
Objective
To evaluate whether a hospital-based data collection team can reliably and efficiently conduct integrated, active surveillance of selected diseases.
Methods
Evaluation of data collected by hospital-based team from May-July, 1999. System attributes to be evaluated included accuracy, timeliness, and volume. Interviews with NYCDOH program staff, NYCDOH hospital-based staff, and key staff at pilot hospitals concerning acceptability of system.
Results
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Preliminary results indicate some difference in volume and timeliness of data collection. Interviews with NYCDOH program and hospital-based pilot staff revealed barriers to integration of data collection. Infection control staff at pilot hospitals preferred communicating with fewer NYCDOH staff.
Significance
Despite challenges of integrating the collection of surveillance data across disease programs at the NYCDOH, pilot hospitals observed some benefits. Further data analysis and refinement of methods to compare system attributes needed to determine efficiency of new system.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session the participant will be able to: 1. Describe system attributes of a pilot project to integrate data collection of selected diseases under active surveillance at four New York City hospitals. 2. Discuss challenges faced by local health units in integrating disease-specific data collection systems
Keywords: Epidemiology, Data/Surveillance
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.