Abstract

Enhancing Disease Surveillance with Spatial-Temporal Results in Los Angeles County
Track: Health and Human Services
Author(s): Patricia Araki

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Automated Disease Surveillance Section (ADSS) conducts daily analysis of emergency department visits and other data sources to identify abnormal increases in disease and monitor potential outbreaks throughout the county. ADSS recently created an internal website that provides an integrated display of analysis results from each complementary system in a timely manner. Results featured include syndrome specific space-time scan statistic (SaTScanT) cluster maps with internal links to listings by syndrome and geographic area. Cluster maps enable analysts to observe disease trends and patient distribution over time while facilitating the identification and/or investigation of significant disease/syndrome clusters and possible outbreaks. Several disease clusters and outbreaks have been detected, monitored, and confirmed through the integration of space-time scan statistics with geospatial and temporal datasets. This has allowed ADSS to improve the timeliness of investigations while enhancing the ability to detect and monitor significant disease/syndrome clusters.

Patricia Araki
Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health
313 N. Figueroa Street
Suite 222
Los Angeles , California 90012
United States
Phone: 213-989-7208
E-mail: paraki@ladhs.org