The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #68047

Nancy L Asdigian, PhD¹, Norman Anderson, MSPH², Ronald D. Deprez, PhD, MPH¹, and Edward Miller, MS². (1) Public Health Research Institute, 120 Exchange Street, Portland, ME 04101, 303.282.9278, nasdigian@warp8.com, (2) American Lung Association of Maine, 122 State St, Augusta, ME 04330

Using the most recently available state and national databases on population, hospital discharges, mortality, behavioral risks and environmental releases, we developed a data warehouse and web-based reporting tool that allows users to generate indicators of: a) behavioral, environmental and occupational risks for respiratory disease; b) prevalence/incidence of respiratory disease across the lifespan (neonatal; pediatric; young, middle and older adulthood); c) health care utilization; d) mortality and e) disease-related costs. Indicators can be generated for, and compared across time, geography (community, state, region, US), age cohort and gender group. Additional information is included about the availability of preventive and other health services, smoking-attributable health care expenditures, and tobacco, environmental and other policies affecting respiratory health. Data are returned in the form of printable or downloadable reports. The resulting system-- Respiratory Health Indicators for Maine (RHIME) – was developed for Maine but can be efficiently adapted for use in other states or at the national level. It provides a comprehensive set of indicators than can track respiratory health at the community, state, regional and national levels. We also developed a data warehouse that efficiently collects, cleans, stores and updates the indicators as part of an ongoing system of respiratory health surveillance. We describe the design and functionality of the RHIME system as well as how it can be used for planning and evaluating public health initiatives. Using concrete examples, we also describe how the system can be used for research, education and advocacy efforts at the local, state and national levels.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the structure and functionality of a web-based system (RHIME) for tracking respiratory health indicators within and across the State of Maine.
• Describe the databases and indicators tracked in the RHIME system.
• Describe ways in which Maine's respiratory health tracking system can be used for community assessment, health planning, evaluation and policy development.

Keywords: Surveillance, Community Health Assessment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.