Browsing by Subject "public health information"

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    Evaluating the Completeness of Data Elements of Provider Reporting on Indiana's Communicable Disease Reports
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2014-04-11) Lai, Patrick T. S.; Gujjula, Kavya; Grannis, Shaun J.; Dixon, Brian E.
    Objective To examine the completeness of data elements required for notifiable disease surveillance from official, provider-based reports submitted to a local health department. Introduction Completeness of public health information is essential for the accurate assessment of community health progress and disease surveillance. Yet challenges persist with respect to the level of completeness that public health agencies receive in reports submitted by health care providers. Missing and incomplete data can jeopardize information reliability and quality resulting in inaccurate disease evaluation and management (1). Additionally, incomplete data can prolong the time required for disease investigators to complete their work on a reported case. Thus, it is important to determine where the scarcity of information is coming from to recognize the characteristics of provider reporting. Methods Data from 1,195 unique patient cases across 7 notifiable diseases were abstracted from official reporting forms (2) submitted to a local health department serving the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The selected diseases were chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, salmonella, histoplasmosis, hepatitis B-acute, and hepatitis C-chronic. Table 1 represents the duration and collection period for each of the selected diseases. Diseases were purposely chosen to represent the broad range managed by local health departments. Diseases were purposely chosen to represent the broad range managed by local health departments. A set of data elements consisting of patient, clinical, and provider information was then evaluated for completeness. The level of completeness was determined using a classification method similar to that used by Dixon et al. (3). Fields were considered complete if they contained a value; the recorded value was not validated for accuracy. Results Table 2 depicts the level of completeness for the selected data elements across the target diseases. Completeness levels and percentages varied by disease and data element with completeness being higher for patient demographic information (e.g., name, address) than provider demographics (e.g., name, clinic address). The majority of data elements for patient demographics were categorized as mostly to always complete. Conclusion It is essential that provider reports are completed in a thorough and timely manner. To increase documentation of provider information, analyses of provider characteristics such as workflow patterns, organizational constraints, and information needs are essential to understand the completeness level of provider information reporting. This will allow us to develop implementation of strategies to increase completeness of reporting across all data elements necessary to assess and investigate notifiable diseases.
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    Promoting public health equity through strategic information campaigns on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of pandemic health information campaigns on Twitter in Houston, Texas
    (Wiley, 2024-06) Page-Tan, Courtney; Hope, Sara; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    Throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, reports have indicated vulnerable communities have suffered disproportionately from chronic illness, higher death rates, and unequal access to healthcare. This calls into question the equity of the nationwide vaccination program launched in the United States in 2021, a program with the potential to mitigate the disproportionate burden of the pandemic in these communities. This study investigates the extent to which local government agencies, elected officials, and community-based organizations (CBOs) engaged in equitable information campaigns during the COVID-19 pandemic to address health barriers common in vulnerable communities, including issues of access, fear, and language barriers. Using a sui generis data set of COVID-19 testing and vaccine-related Twitter posts from local government agencies, elected officials, and CBOs from Houston, Texas, we find that local government agencies were more likely than elected officials and CBOs to engage in equitable information campaigns and that among elected officials, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to engage in equitable messaging. These findings have important implications for communication strategies such as targeted and culturally sensitive messaging. These findings also signal an opportunity for elected officials and CBOs to engage further with their constituents and social networks to share public health information on their public communication platforms.