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. 2020 Jun;74(7):612-616.
doi: 10.1136/jech-2018-211654. Epub 2020 Apr 24.

Glossary for public health surveillance in the age of data science

Arnaud Chiolero  1   2   3   4 , David Buckeridge  4
Affiliations

Glossary for public health surveillance in the age of data science

Arnaud Chiolero et al. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Public health surveillance is the ongoing systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data, closely integrated with the timely dissemination of the resulting information to those responsible for preventing and controlling disease and injury. With the rapid development of data science, encompassing big data and artificial intelligence, and with the exponential growth of accessible and highly heterogeneous health-related data, from healthcare providers to user-generated online content, the field of surveillance and health monitoring is changing rapidly. It is, therefore, the right time for a short glossary of key terms in public health surveillance, with an emphasis on new data-science developments in the field.

Keywords: Public health surveillance; big data; data science; monitoring.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Health data and related information are used, on one hand, to increase general knowledge, which corresponds traditionally to a public health research activity. On the other hand, they are also key for guiding decisions and actions by stakeholders in public health, which corresponds to public health surveillance activities. The knowledge produced by research is eventually used to improve public health surveillance.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Steps in the data processing of public health surveillance, from data generation and collection to information dissemination for decision-making.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Public health surveillance is a central element of evidence-based public health. Inspired by Brownson et al 2009.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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