IT Needs of Disease Surveillance
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IT Needs of Disease Surveillance
When developing an IT system for disease surveillance, it is essential to consider the needs of the system, the scale and availability of data, the robustness of the algorithms, and the budget. These considerations are important in determining the system’s architecture, which is a critical component of the system. Subtle differences in architecture design can greatly impact how a surveillance system may be used and how it will perform under different conditions.
Select a public health organization of interest to you and research the organization’s surveillance activities. Consider the organization’s needs and how its needs align with the system’s software architecture.
brief description of the organization you selected and its surveillance activities. Considering the needs of the organization, recommend whether a single-purpose desktop application with local-level data or a networked application with broad-based information access is best for the organization, and describe what architectural features you would propose. Justify your selections. Respond to a colleague who selected a different architecture and/or organization than you.
SAMPLE ANSWER
IT Needs of Disease Surveillance
CDC’s Epidemiology and Prevention Branch in the Influenza Division focuses on compiling and analyzing data on influenza activity on an annual basis in the United States and producing FluView, a weekly influenza surveillance report. The U.S. influenza surveillance system comprises of collaborative efforts between the CDC and its various local, state, and national partners in different health departments, emergency departments, clinics, healthcare providers, vital statistics offices, and clinical laboratories.
CDC’s influenza surveillance activities include; monitoring the time and place of occurrence of influenza, tracking influenza-related illnesses, determining the influenza viruses that are circulating, detecting changes in influenza viruses, and measuring the effect of influenza on hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. Influenza surveillance is classified into five categories: virological surveillance, outpatient illness surveillance, mortality surveillance, hospitalization surveillance, and summary of the geographic spread of influenza.
CDC works towards the development of a comprehensive system for influenza surveillance due to the fact that influenza viruses are dynamic, thus requiring ongoing collection and characterization of the strains. In addition, there are high chances for influenza strains to undergo changes that may lead to pandemics of influenza; surveillance of viruses helps in detecting these changes. Furthermore, there is need for annual administration and updating of vaccines on the basis of surveillance findings. Surveillance data is also an important foundation for triggering national responses to emerging pandemic strains.
CDC utilizes de-centralized information architecture, which is the most appropriate system for enabling secure and timely exchange of information across multiple pragmatic areas. Thus, a broad-based information access is the best for CDC. Unlike CDC which should adopt a networked system, a city health department should adopt single-desktop design because local control programs are not properly designed for data integration (Jennings, 2009).
References
CDC. Overview of Influenza Surveillance in the United States. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/weekly/overview.pdf
Jennings. J. M. (2009). Integration of Surveillance Data. Public Health Reports, 124: 40-50.
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