Public health surveillance is the systematic, ongoing assessment of the health of a community, based on the collection, interpretation, and use of health data. Surveillance provides information necessary for public health decision making. This text presents an organized approach to planning, developing, and implementing public health surveillance systems. It has a broad scope, discussing legal and ethical issues as well as technical problems. It goes beyond the surveillance of particular conditions to the basic elements common to the application of surveillance to any type of health-related problem. The Second Edition has been updated throughout and many chapters have been expanded. Several new chapters have been added on the changing healthcare information infrastructure, quality surveillance, pharmaceutical surveillance, and the use of surveillance information in marketing and advocacy. The standard text in this field, it will continue to serve as a textbook for public health students and a desk reference for public health practitioners.

ForewordWilliam H. Foege 1. Historical Development, Stephen B. Thacker 2. Considerations in Planning a Surveillance System, Steven M. Teutsch 3. Sources of Health-Related Information, R. Gibson Parrish II and Sharon M. McDonnel 4. The Changing Health-Care Information Infrastructure in the United States: Opportunities for a New Approach to Public Health Surveillance, Denise Koo and R. Gibson Parish II 5. Management of the Surveillance System and Quality Control of Data, Samuel L. Groseclose, Kevin M. Sullivan, Norma P. Gibbs, and Carol M. Knowles 6. Analyzing and Interpreting Surveillance Data: Special Analytic Issues, Gail R. Janes, Lori C. Hutwagner, Willard Cates, Jr., Donna Stroup, and G. David Williamson 7. Communicating Information for Action within the Public Health System, Richard A. Goodman, Patrick L. Remington, and Robert J. Howard 8. Evaluating Public Health Surveillance, Raul A. Romaguera, Robert German, and Douglas Klaucke 9. Ethical Issues, Dixie E. Snider and Donna Stroup 10. Public Health Surveillance and the Law, Gene W. Mathews, Verla S. Neslunc, and R. Elliott Churchill 11. Computerizing Public Health Surveillance Systems, Andrew G. Dean 12. State and Local Issues in Surveillance, Guthrie S. Birkhead and Christopher M. Maylahn 13. Surveillance Issues and Information Systems in International Health, Mark E. White and Sharon M. McDonnell 14. Surveillance of Quality in Health Care, James F. Murray 15. Surveillance of Pharmaceuticals, Janet Arrowsmith-Lowe 16. Using Surveillance Information in Communications, Marketing, and Advocacy, R. Elliott Churchill

From reviews of the First Edition: