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Public Health Ontario’s surveillance and epidemiology team’s mission statement, Better Data for Better Action,reflects our role as a cross-cutting area whose activities overlap with many others in Public Health Ontario and public health. We are comprised of technical experts in surveillance, epidemiology, biostatistics and related areas such as geospatial analysis and mathematical modelling.
Epidemiology is the study of the frequency, distribution, and determinants of health and disease in populations. This information is used to promote health and control disease. Health surveillance is the systematic ongoing collection, collation, and analysis of data and the timely dissemination of information to those who need to know so that informed action can be taken.
Activities underway include:
- Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC)
- Leading the evaluation of the Ontario Provincial human papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine program
- Developing advanced methods for the analysis of mandatory reported C. difficile data
- Working with health units on the Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System to explore ways to strengthen and support the enhancement of this important component of our public health system in Ontario
- Improving laboratory surveillance capacity
- Collaborating with public health partners such as the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) to develop Childhood Healthy Weight Surveillance in Ontario; Cancer Care Ontario on the Ontario Health Study; and Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) on the recently published Ontario Burden of Infectious Diseases Study to identify public health problems and gaps in information
- Providing support for community or health care institution outbreak investigations
- Providing co-ordinated leadership and support for the planning for the Ontario Risk and Behaviour Surveillance System Project
- Providing immunization advice at the local, provincial, national and international levels
Physicians and nurse practitioners:
Join our Sentinel Vaccine Effectiveness (VE) study and contribute to the accurate measurement of circulating influenza strains, including H1N1, in Ontario.
For a list of 2009-10 achievements, click here.
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