Use of Surveillance Data in Research

Surveillance data is a type of administrative data used to monitor disease outbreaks - typically infectious diseases - to understand virulence, risks, causes, and associations. Examples include the publicly-available Weekly Infectious Diseases Bulletin published by MOH, which provides aggregated data on polyclinic cases. 

Institutional Infection Prevention and Control Units also collect institution-centric data for the purposes of internal monitoring. Because some datasets are public and others are restricted, those wishing to harness surveillance data to address research objectives must be mindful of the policies governing access and use. 

This talk will use data on inpatient influenza outbreaks to illustrate how research might be needed to help support the objectives of those collecting surveillance data. It will cover the ethical concerns at the boundaries of routine non-research data collection activities and research activities, and will conclude by illustrating how surveillance data can be used to generate policies.