Staff Experiences With Electronic Initial Case Reports for Birth Defects Surveillance in Texas

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Electronic case reporting (eCR) is a growing tool for public health surveillance.
• Its application in birth defects surveillance has not been previously evaluated.
• This study assesses staff experiences with eCR for birth defects surveillance.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate birth defects surveillance staff experiences and perceptions of eCR data.
• Identify challenges, benefits, and areas for improvement in birth defects surveillance using eCR.
• Compare eCR data abstraction with traditional methods using electronic health records (EHRs).

Main Methods:

• Conducted two virtual focus groups with 15 staff from the Texas Birth Defects Registry (TBDR).
• Participants had prior experience with a pilot evaluation of electronic initial case reports (eICRs).
• Utilized thematic analysis on detailed notes from structured interviews to identify key themes.

Main Results:

• Six major themes emerged: eICR structure, data quality/completeness, comparison with EHRs, workflow challenges, utility, and recommendations.
• Staff identified potential benefits of eCR for case-finding.
• Significant challenges include eICR structure, data completeness, and workflow integration.

Conclusions:

• eCR offers advantages for birth defects surveillance but requires significant improvements.
• Key recommendations include enhancing eICR data organization, adding clinical details, and standardizing abstraction.
• Findings can guide strategies to optimize eCR and inform national guidelines for birth defects surveillance.