Download Epidemiology

Epidemiology
Galveston County Health District
Epidemiology Services
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Dana Beckham, DVM
Chief Epidemiologist
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Patricia McIntosh
Epidemiologist – BT
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O’Shaunna Griffin
Public Health Tech
Public Health Surveillance
“… the ongoing, systematic collection,
analysis, and interpretation of data on
specific health events for use in the
planning, implementation, and evaluation
of public health programs.”
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1992
Essential Public Health Services
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Monitor health status of individuals … to identify
community health problems.
Diagnose / investigate community health problems
Inform, educate … the community with respect to
health issues.
Link individuals who need health services to
appropriate providers.
Ensure competent workforce for provision of
essential public health services.
Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of
health services in a community.
Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 121
GCHD Epidemiology Principal Activities
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Surveillance
 Communicable disease
 Immunization status
 Elevated blood lead
 Reporting of drownings/near-drownings
Annual review
 Galveston County mortality data
 Birth / pregnancy data
Preparation of Galveston County health status
assessment reports
Participation in training of health care professionals
GCHD Epidemiology Budget
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Total operating
budget $191,000
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BT – $104,786
ORAS – $16,869
County - $69,345
Notifiable Conditions
(Reportable Diseases) in Texas
Texas Health & Safety Code requires health care providers
to report specified diseases/conditions to health
departments
Communicable diseases – approximately 60
 Elevated blood lead in children
 Injuries – drowning and near-drowning
 Work-related – asbestosis, elevated blood lead,
pesticide poisoning, silicosis
Plus “outbreaks, exotic diseases, and unusual group
expressions of disease”
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Notifiable Conditions (Reportable Diseases)
Galveston County Top Ten, 2003
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Chlamydia trachomatis – 941
Hepatitis C – 730
Gonorrhea – 344
Elevated blood lead –104
Salmonellosis – 63
Shigellosis – 51
Chickenpox – 48
HIV infection – 48
Meningitis, aseptic/viral – 41
Syphilis – 41
Health Alert Network (HAN)
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Rapid communications from GCHD to
participating public health partners
Currently email only
Currently downstream only (from Health
District to partners)
Future may allow blast faxing, paging and
electronic disease reporting
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Future Issues
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Health Disparities
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Syndromic Surveillance
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Emerging Infectious Disease
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BT