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Open Access 01-12-2022 | Public Health | Research

Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance system

Authors: Cynthia Lucero-Obusan, Gina Oda, Anoshiravan Mostaghimi, Patricia Schirmer, Mark Holodniy

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2022

Abstract

Background

Early threat detection and situational awareness are vital to achieving a comprehensive and accurate view of health-related events for federal, state, and local health agencies. Key to this are public health and syndromic surveillance systems that can analyze large data sets to discover patterns, trends, and correlations of public health significance. In 2020, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) evaluated its public health surveillance system and identified areas for improvement.

Methods

Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for Evaluating Public Health Surveillance Systems, we assessed the ability of the Praedico Surveillance System to perform public health surveillance for a variety of health issues and evaluated its performance compared to an enterprise data solution (VA Corporate Data Warehouse), legacy surveillance system (VA ESSENCE) and a national, collaborative syndromic surveillance platform (CDC NSSP BioSense).

Results

Review of system attributes found that the system was simple, flexible, and stable. Representativeness, timeliness, sensitivity, and Predictive Value Positive were acceptable but could be further improved. Data quality issues and acceptability present challenges that potentially affect the overall usefulness of the system.

Conclusions

Praedico is a customizable surveillance and data analytics platform built on big data technologies. Functionality is straightforward, with rapid query generation and runtimes. Data can be graphed, mapped, analyzed, and shared with key decision makers and stakeholders. Evaluation findings suggest that future development and system enhancements should focus on addressing Praedico data quality issues and improving user acceptability. Because Praedico is designed to handle big data queries and work with data from a variety of sources, it could be enlisted as a tool for interdepartmental and interagency collaboration and public health data sharing. We suggest that future system evaluations include measurements of value and effectiveness along with additional organizations and functional assessments.

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Title: Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance system
Authors: Cynthia Lucero-Obusan
Gina Oda
Anoshiravan Mostaghimi
Patricia Schirmer
Mark Holodniy
Publication date: 01-12-2022
Publisher: BioMed Central
Keyword: Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12578-2

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance system

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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