A pragmatic approach to timely disease surveillance in the emergency department

Update on public health surveillance in emergency departments

The development of public health surveillance systems based on ED visits, in conjunction with other health and non-health-related data, is an important step to better understanding the health needs of the US population. There are multiple steps to develop a functional organization, and these actions require the support and involvement of many different partners. The ability to (1) analyze data; (2) distribute results; and (3) influence policy, funding, and patients' behavior are important outgrowths of these activities. This chapter discusses the opportunities and obstacles related to public health surveillance systems based on ED data.

Injury Prevention

Emergency medicine plays a significant role in injury prevention through the use of public health models that link injury data to prevention programming, research, and advocacy. The day-to-day experiences in the emergency department provide a picture of the injury problem in a given community and give the emergency practitioner a real-world basis for injury prevention efforts. This article covers the basics or injury prevention, including defining the problem, discussing data and conceptual aspects of injury prevention, and systematically identifying successful approach to reducing the burden of injuries.