Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105094

John F. Ambrose, MPH, CHES and Mark J. Levine, MD, MPH. Piedmont Health District, Virginia Department of Health, 111 South St. 1st Floor, Farmville, VA 23901, 434-392-3984 x145, john.ambrose@vdh.virginia.gov

Background: Opportunities presently exist to better evaluate local reporting of disease to health departments. Appropriate reporting of disease is not well described, nor are systems for determining disease reporting among health providers. Despite improvements in disease surveillance systems, public health officials are still limited by the accuracy and timely reporting of disease from health providers and others legally required to report. Objectives: To determine whether diseases are being reported within a timely manner to a local, multi-jurisdictional, rural health district and to identify disease reporting baselines at the local basis. Methods: Reportable diseases were collected through routine passive surveillance from local providers between January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004. Reporting trends were measured by disease and location. Maps created using geographic information systems (GIS) technology were developed to show area specific analysis. Results: Thirty-eight percent of the providers legally required to report disease occurrence to the health department submitted disease surveillance reports during the study period. The mean reporting time was 8.9 days (95% CI 8.2, 9.6) with a standard deviation of 7.5 days. County level analysis demonstrated means ranging from 7.7 – 11.9 days and standard deviation as high as 8.9 days. A Kruskal-Wallis test demonstrated a significant difference (p=0.0165). Conclusions: Local analysis of disease reporting timeliness demonstrates the need for system-oriented continuous improvement efforts to improve disease reporting timeliness among providers. Utilizing baseline results with GIS mapping may allow public health officials to target interventions in specific areas and with specific providers to improve disease reporting.

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