PUBH 301Public Health Surveillance Systems

3 credits · Public Health · Penn State

This course provides an introduction to the principles and practice of public health surveillance--the ongoing, systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting health-related data to identify, monitor, and assess health outcomes. The course will cover the history of public health surveillance systems and the guiding principles for the methods used in surveillance. Students will conceptually learn the different approaches to surveillance based on varying public health goals (e.g., to monitor infectious and chronic diseases, social and environmental determinants of health, emergency preparedness and response, healthcare quality and safety) and the theoretical steps required to plan and implement a surveillance system including how and when to collect and manage different types of data. Further, students will discuss emerging issues in surveillance and consider the ethical, legal, economic and political factors when planning a surveillance system with a special consideration of how to engage key stakeholders. Examples of surveillance systems at local, state, country and global levels will be illustrated. Through a combination of lectures, small group discussions, and hands-on exercises, students will be able to critically think through how to design and implement a surveillance program based on public health goals which will lay the groundwork for a subsequent course applying this knowledge.