Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
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Expand the application of the NC DETECT data. Several users
remarked that NC DETECT is not being used to its full advantage.
The amount of data collected and analyzed is considered enor-
mous, but the capacity to exploit its full potential remains limited
by the user's lack of time and knowledge of the application. As one
informant explained: “We just don't have enough resources, so we
have data but probably not enough people to interpret this data,
too.” Informants also observed that NC DETECT had data related
to asthma, mental health, injuries, and domestic violence that could
inform surveillance and public health programs.
Most users with whom we spoke only use the system to run
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preprogrammed reports; only one had taken advantage of the
application's query function to produce customized analyses.
However, even she noted that the number and complexity of the
E-codes and sub-codes was the major stumbling block in carrying
out her analyses.
These comments suggest that enhancing the usability of NC DETECT
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will require (1) making time-saving modifications that allow current
users to more fully exploit the capabilities of the system for outbreak
detection and investigation; and (2) evolving the system to serve
nontraditional users; in other words growing NC DETECT's “market
share.” A system that has utility for a wide range of uses among a
diverse set of stakeholders is more likely to be sustainable and justi-
fiable in terms of cost to benefits.
Enhance the positive predictive value of the detection algorithms.
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Some informants thought the number of false alarms was unaccept-
ably high and needed to be reduced.
Establish guidelines for investigation of signals. Informants voiced
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a need in particular for consistent guidelines and protocols for
investigating signals so an inordinate amount of time is not wasted
on following up on “false alarms” or duplicating others' work. For
example, one guideline could be that all users who investigate a sig-
nal document their findings in the comment areas.
11.4. Conclusions
NC DETECT has contributed to early detection, although its utility is lim-
ited at present. Informants cited examples of how NC DETECT has been used
to detect cases of illness that may not have been identified otherwise (e.g.,
foodborne outbreak from a sorority house), but in most cases, NC DETECT is
used to confirm or monitor an outbreak. There is, however, some indication
