epidemiological surveillance Flashcards
why is surveillance case definition important ?
to ensure standardization of data on both a national and an international level (consistency in reporting)
what is surveillance case definition ?
a set of uniform criteria used to define a disease for public health
which differs to the clinical definition of that same disease
what are the levels of case definition ?
suspect case
probable case
confirmed case
what is the difference between the three different types of cases in case definition ?
- suspect case only shows clinical findings
- probable case is a patient with typical clinical findings and epidemiological base with no laboratory confirmation
- confirmed cases are classified through clinical finding with confirmatory laboratory tests
what are the requirements of a competent surveillance system ?
- reporting network
- ease and rapidity
- standardisation
- on-going nature
- feedback
what are the different types of surveillance ?
passive
active
sentinel surveillance
syndromic surveillance
what is passive surveillance ?
available data is used in order to report diseases but there is no active search for cases
what is the disadvantage of passive surveillance ?
the role is without additional funds or resources and as a result under reporting is common
what is active surveillance ?
refers to a system inn which project staff are specifically recruited to carry out a task case finding)
which of the surveillance methods is more accurate ?
active surveillance methods
when is active surveillance used ?
when every possible case must be found and investigated, it is also used for outbreak investigations
what is the difference in frequency between active and passive surveillance ?
passive is routine
active is periodic
what is sentinel surveillance ?
used when high quality data is required about a particular disease that cant be obtained through a national surveillance system
on what basis are reporting units chosen for sentinel surveillance ?
units with a high probability of seeing cases of the disease in question
when is using sentinel surveillance not a good idea ?
for the detection of rare disease
