 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
A.C. Lindsay, DDS, MPH, DrPH, Research Associate Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Bldg. II, Room 304, Boston, MA 02115, K.T. Mucha, MA, Senior Research Assistant, Department of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, S. Mierzwa, MPH, RD, Division of Health Education and Intervention, Connecticut Department of Health, P.O. Box 340308 410 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06134-0308, and Karen Peterson, ScD, RD, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, 617 432 1080, kpeterso@hsph.harvard.edu.
Purpose: To explore and document issues related to uses of nutrition and physical activity surveillance data across surveillance systems for public health action (e.g. program improvement, decision- and policy-making).
Setting: As a follow-up to quantitative surveys conducted with selected States to enumerate state-level activities in nutrition and physical activity surveillance, we used qualitative methods including in-depth interviews with public health personnel in selected states and federal public health agencies.
Methods: Twenty in-depth telephone interviews using a semi-structured interview guide were conducted with key informants purposefully sampled from states who had completed the quantitative inventory, and federal public health officials with expertise on nutrition, physical activity and surveillance.
Result: Assessment and reflection of the data-to-action cycle revealed that respondents held similar views related to the use of surveillance data, issues of data integration, and needs for new information, especially at different environmental levels and outside health and education settings. Respondents emphasized the importance of partnerships between program and data people and the need for increased understanding of surveillance systems by public health practitioners to facilitate public health action. Furthermore, the need for increased training and technical assistance to states of effective uses of surveillance systems and data was underscored.
Conclusions: Qualitative methods have helped expand our understanding of the issues related to the use of surveillance systems at State and Federal levels.
Learning Objectives: Participants should learn key perspectives on the use of surveillance systems and the application of qualitative methods for evaluation of such perspectives.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Nutrition, Surveillance
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.