scholarly journals Collection of Data on Race, Ethnicity, Language, and Nativity by US Public Health Surveillance and Monitoring Systems: Gaps and Opportunities

2017 ◽  
Vol 133 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Rodriguez-Lainz ◽  
Mariana McDonald ◽  
Maureen Fonseca-Ford ◽  
Ana Penman-Aguilar ◽  
Stephen H. Waterman ◽  
...  

Objective: Despite increasing diversity in the US population, substantial gaps in collecting data on race, ethnicity, primary language, and nativity indicators persist in public health surveillance and monitoring systems. In addition, few systems provide questionnaires in foreign languages for inclusion of non-English speakers. We assessed (1) the extent of data collected on race, ethnicity, primary language, and nativity indicators (ie, place of birth, immigration status, and years in the United States) and (2) the use of data-collection instruments in non-English languages among Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)–supported public health surveillance and monitoring systems in the United States. Methods: We identified CDC-supported surveillance and health monitoring systems in place from 2010 through 2013 by searching CDC websites and other federal websites. For each system, we assessed its website, documentation, and publications for evidence of the variables of interest and use of data-collection instruments in non-English languages. We requested missing information from CDC program officials, as needed. Results: Of 125 data systems, 100 (80%) collected data on race and ethnicity, 2 more collected data on ethnicity but not race, 26 (21%) collected data on racial/ethnic subcategories, 40 (32%) collected data on place of birth, 21 (17%) collected data on years in the United States, 14 (11%) collected data on immigration status, 13 (10%) collected data on primary language, and 29 (23%) used non-English data-collection instruments. Population-based surveys and disease registries more often collected data on detailed variables than did case-based, administrative, and multiple-source systems. Conclusions: More complete and accurate data on race, ethnicity, primary language, and nativity can improve the quality, representativeness, and usefulness of public health surveillance and monitoring systems to plan and evaluate targeted public health interventions to eliminate health disparities.

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-79
Author(s):  
Carmela Alcántara ◽  
Shakira F. Suglia ◽  
Irene Perez Ibarra ◽  
A. Louise Falzon ◽  
Elliot McCullough ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. e1-e7
Author(s):  
Randall L. Sell ◽  
Elise I. Krims

Public health surveillance can have profound impacts on the health of populations, with COVID-19 surveillance offering an illuminating example. Surveillance surrounding COVID-19 testing, confirmed cases, and deaths has provided essential information to public health professionals about how to minimize morbidity and mortality. In the United States, surveillance has also pointed out how populations, on the basis of geography, age, and race and ethnicity, are being impacted disproportionately, allowing targeted intervention and evaluation. However, COVID-19 surveillance has also highlighted how the public health surveillance system fails some communities, including sexual and gender minorities. This failure has come about because of the haphazard and disorganized way disease reporting data are collected, analyzed, and reported in the United States, and the structural homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia acting within these systems. We provide recommendations for addressing these concerns after examining experiences collecting race data in COVID-19 surveillance and attempts in Pennsylvania and California to incorporate sexual orientation and gender identity variables into their pandemic surveillance efforts. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print June 10, 2021: e1–e7. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.3062727 )


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 845-849
Author(s):  
Barbara Baquero ◽  
Carmen Gonzalez ◽  
Magaly Ramirez ◽  
Erica Chavez Santos ◽  
India J. Ornelas

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed, and intensified, health inequities faced by Latinx in the United States. Washington was one of the first U.S. states to report cases of COVID-19. Public health surveillance shows that 31% of Washington cases are Latinx, despite being only 13% of the state population. Unjust policies related to immigration, labor, housing, transportation, and education have contributed to both past and existing inequities. Approximately 20% of Latinx are uninsured, leading to delays in testing and medical care for COVID-19, and early reports indicated critical shortages in professional interpreters and multilingual telehealth options. Washington State is taking action to address some of these inequities. Applying a health equity framework, we describe key factors contributing to COVID-19–related health inequities among Latinx populations, and how Washington State has aimed to address these inequities. We draw on these experiences to make recommendations for other Latinx communities experiencing COVID-19 disparities.


2015 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 489-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine R. Lesko ◽  
Lynne A. Sampson ◽  
William C. Miller ◽  
Jacquelyn Clymore ◽  
Peter A. Leone ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. S44-S51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Desai ◽  
Linda Geiss ◽  
Qaiser Mukhtar ◽  
Todd Harwell ◽  
Stephanie Benjamin ◽  
...  

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