Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance system
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 d...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2022-02-01
|
| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12578-2 |
| _version_ | 1818330373910691840 |
|---|---|
| author | Cynthia Lucero-Obusan Gina Oda Anoshiravan Mostaghimi Patricia Schirmer Mark Holodniy |
| author_facet | Cynthia Lucero-Obusan Gina Oda Anoshiravan Mostaghimi Patricia Schirmer Mark Holodniy |
| author_sort | Cynthia Lucero-Obusan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T13:02:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8eb56ed54eaf4cc6a63e18e06242b583 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T13:02:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-8eb56ed54eaf4cc6a63e18e06242b5832022-12-21T23:44:56ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582022-02-0122111610.1186/s12889-022-12578-2Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance systemCynthia Lucero-Obusan0Gina Oda1Anoshiravan Mostaghimi2Patricia Schirmer3Mark Holodniy4U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Patient Care Services, Public Health Program OfficeU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Patient Care Services, Public Health Program OfficeU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Patient Care Services, Public Health Program OfficeU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Patient Care Services, Public Health Program OfficeU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Patient Care Services, Public Health Program OfficeAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12578-2Big dataHealth informaticsPublic healthSurveillanceSyndromic surveillanceSystem evaluation |
| spellingShingle | Cynthia Lucero-Obusan Gina Oda Anoshiravan Mostaghimi Patricia Schirmer Mark Holodniy Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance system BMC Public Health Big data Health informatics Public health Surveillance Syndromic surveillance System evaluation |
| title | Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance system |
| title_full | Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance system |
| title_fullStr | Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance system |
| title_full_unstemmed | Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance system |
| title_short | Public health surveillance in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: evaluation of the Praedico surveillance system |
| title_sort | public health surveillance in the u s department of veterans affairs evaluation of the praedico surveillance system |
| topic | Big data Health informatics Public health Surveillance Syndromic surveillance System evaluation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12578-2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cynthialuceroobusan publichealthsurveillanceintheusdepartmentofveteransaffairsevaluationofthepraedicosurveillancesystem AT ginaoda publichealthsurveillanceintheusdepartmentofveteransaffairsevaluationofthepraedicosurveillancesystem AT anoshiravanmostaghimi publichealthsurveillanceintheusdepartmentofveteransaffairsevaluationofthepraedicosurveillancesystem AT patriciaschirmer publichealthsurveillanceintheusdepartmentofveteransaffairsevaluationofthepraedicosurveillancesystem AT markholodniy publichealthsurveillanceintheusdepartmentofveteransaffairsevaluationofthepraedicosurveillancesystem |