Syndromic Surveillance Data for Accidental Fall Injury

Authors

  • Donald E Brannen Greene County Public Health
  • Melissa Howell Greene County Public Health, Xenia, Ohio
  • Ashley Steveley Greene County Public Health, Xenia, Ohio
  • Jeff Webb Greene County Public Health, Xenia, Ohio
  • Deidre Owsley Greene County Public Health, Xenia, Ohio

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v13i3.10264

Abstract

Background:
Fall injuries (FI) are a priority for public health planning. Syndromic surveillance (SS) is used to detect outbreaks, environmental exposures, and bioterrorism in real time. Since information is gathered on patients, the utility of using this system for FI should be evaluated.


Methods:
Strategies to integrate FI medical and SS data were compared using a cohort versus case control (CC) study design.


Results:
The CC study was accurate 77.7% (57.7-91.3) of the time versus 100% for a cohort design. The CC study design found FI increased for older age groups, female gender, November, and December months. Dates with any freezing temperature had a higher case fatality rate. Repeat acute care visits increased the risk of FI diagnosis by over 6% and trended upward with each visit (R=.333, p<.001).


Conclusions:
The CC diagnostic quality of FI were better for age and gender than for area. The CC study found the indicators of increased risk of FI including: Freezing temperature, repeat acute care visits, older age groups, female gender, November, and December months. A gradient of increasing odds of FI with the number of acute care visits provides proof that community fall prevention programs should focus on those most likely to fall. A CC design of SS data can quickly identify indicators of FI with a lower accuracy but with less cost than a full cohort study, thus providing a method to focus local public health interventions.

Author Biography

Donald E Brannen, Greene County Public Health

Dr. Brannen has graduate degrees in Public Health, Health Services Administration, and Epidemiology, and undergraduate degrees in liberal arts and medical laboratory sciences. He is a Public Health Epidemiologist for Greene County, Ohio; Unit Leader for the Greene County Medical Reserve Corps; Adjunct Professor of Health Services Administration, Xavier University in Cincinnati; and Assistant Adjunct Professor of Community Health, Boonshoft College of Medicine, Wright State University, Ohio. He has peer-reviewed publications in sleep research, public health, and disaster preparedness.

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Published

2021-12-24

How to Cite

Brannen, D. E., Howell, M., Steveley, A., Webb, J., & Owsley, D. (2021). Syndromic Surveillance Data for Accidental Fall Injury. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v13i3.10264