Development of a prototype system for statewide asthma surveillance

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Asthma surveillance is crucial for understanding disease burden and guiding interventions.
• Existing systems may not adequately capture community-level asthma prevalence and needs, particularly in diverse socioeconomic settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a comprehensive statewide and community-level asthma surveillance system.
• To assess the utility of various data sources for estimating asthma burden and identifying at-risk populations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a multi-faceted approach including community prevalence surveys, hospital admission data, emergency department/outpatient visit records, and physician surveys.
• Evaluated the system's effectiveness across five Maine communities with varying population sizes and socioeconomic statuses.

Main Results:

• High asthma hospitalization rates were observed in rural, low-socioeconomic status communities, contrasting with lower diagnosed asthma rates.
• Males exhibited higher asthma symptom prevalence but lower diagnosis and hospital-based care utilization compared to females.
• The surveillance system proved effective in identifying high-risk groups and service needs.

Conclusions:

• The developed asthma surveillance system is valuable for estimating disease burden and pinpointing areas requiring targeted interventions.
• Databases were less effective in assessing asthma severity or identifying environmental risk factors.