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Methods of Tracking Newborns: New York State Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry, 2015-2017
Zahra S Alaali1, Nicole D Longcore1, Pauline Santos1
1All authors are with the Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry, Division of Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health, Albany.
Insights
Integrating population databases like the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS) and Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Information System (NYEHDI-IS) significantly improves tracking infants in public health registries.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Health Informatics
Background:
- Tracking infants in registries like the New York State Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry (NYSZPIR) is crucial for monitoring health outcomes.
- Traditional methods relying solely on medical records can be insufficient for comprehensive infant follow-up.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline methods for tracking infants within the NYSZPIR.
- To demonstrate how population-based databases enhance infant tracking efficiency and data completeness.
Main Methods:
- Utilized patient medical records, provider outreach, NYSIIS, and NYEHDI-IS for data collection.
- Employed descriptive statistics and McNemar test for data analysis and significance testing (P < .05).
Main Results:
- Identified 109 live births from NYSZPIR mothers.
- Integration of NYSIIS and NYEHDI-IS significantly increased documented provider information (97.2% vs. 66.1%) and hearing screening results (97.2% vs. 75.2%) compared to medical records alone (P < .001).
Conclusions:
- Public health surveillance systems, incorporating NYSIIS and NYEHDI-IS, effectively supplement traditional methods for infant tracking.
- Relying solely on medical records is inadequate, potentially leading to high rates of lost-to-follow-up infants.
Abstract:
Objectives. To describe methods employed to track infants enrolled in the New York State Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry (NYSZPIR) and demonstrate the benefits of population databases to improve the process.Methods. We used patient medical records and provider outreach, New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS), and New York State Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Information System (NYEHDI-IS) to gather medical information. We used descriptive statistics to summarize variables and the McNemar test to determine statistical significance (P < .05).Results. We identified 109 live births from NYSZPIR mothers. Provider information was documented for 106 (97.2%) infants in NYSIIS compared with 72 (66.1%) through chart review. Collected results of newborn hearing screening increased from 82 (75.2%) to 106 (97.2%) using NYEHDI-IS. The amount of data obtained was significantly higher (P < .001) when including NYSIIS and NYEHDI-IS compared with using medical records alone.Conclusions. Public health surveillance systems can be used to track infants using data sources such as NYSIIS and NYEHDI-IS in addition to traditional methods. Using medical records alone is inadequate for locating and tracking infants and may result in high lost to follow-up rates.
