François Tessier1, Céline Plante, Tom Kosatsky. 1. Direction de santé publique de l'Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal (DSP Montréal), Montréal, QC, Canada. ftessier@santepub-mtl.qc.ca
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Since 2004, a surveillance system provides counts, almost in real time, of the number of deaths per day occurring on the Island of Montreal. The validity of this monitoring tool and its ability to detect spikes in daily deaths, such as can occur due to heat waves, have been evaluated. METHOD: Comparison of the number of deaths per day recorded in the monitoring system with the number of deaths per day recorded in the official record of deaths in Quebec for 134 days of 2004. RESULTS: The monitoring system is accurate (for over 73% of days, the difference in the number of deaths between the two files falls within a range of +/-3 deaths given an average of 43 deaths per day). The system identifies more than 80% of all deaths and is efficient in identifying days with excess deaths that are 20% above the average. DISCUSSION: This novel monitoring system, based on data used mainly for management of medical services, meets contemporary public health requirements in terms of early detection of unusual health events.
OBJECTIVES: Since 2004, a surveillance system provides counts, almost in real time, of the number of deaths per day occurring on the Island of Montreal. The validity of this monitoring tool and its ability to detect spikes in daily deaths, such as can occur due to heat waves, have been evaluated. METHOD: Comparison of the number of deaths per day recorded in the monitoring system with the number of deaths per day recorded in the official record of deaths in Quebec for 134 days of 2004. RESULTS: The monitoring system is accurate (for over 73% of days, the difference in the number of deaths between the two files falls within a range of +/-3 deaths given an average of 43 deaths per day). The system identifies more than 80% of all deaths and is efficient in identifying days with excess deaths that are 20% above the average. DISCUSSION: This novel monitoring system, based on data used mainly for management of medical services, meets contemporary public health requirements in terms of early detection of unusual health events.
Authors: Christian Witt; André Jean Schubert; Melissa Jehn; Alfred Holzgreve; Uta Liebers; Wilfried Endlicher; Dieter Scherer Journal: Dtsch Arztebl Int Date: 2015-12-21 Impact factor: 5.594
Authors: Preeti H Negandhi; Sutapa B Neogi; Sapna Chopra; Amit Phogat; Rupinder Sahota; Ravikant Gupta; Rakesh Gupta; Sanjay Zodpey Journal: Bull World Health Organ Date: 2016-05-02 Impact factor: 9.408