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Surveillance for NCDs and Health Promotion: An Issue of Theory and Method

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Global Handbook on Noncommunicable Diseases and Health Promotion

Abstract

Surveillance has been for long time a core issue for infectious diseases, and it is still one of the main focuses for those working in public health. In the recent years, parallel to the rising importance of NCDs, we have seen a growing demand for information, particularly on the “causes” of NCDs, the risk factors, and the other determinants of NCDs and chronic diseases (WHO 2002). Initially it has been thought that the usual health (cross-sectional) surveys were sufficient to offer information on changes and trends over time of risk factors and other related variables, but soon (although not obviously for many decision makers and practitioners) it has been clear that:

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Acknowledgments

With my colleague David McQueen, we have discussed dynamics and continuity in observation since 1989; at that time he was running one of the first pilot “real” BRFS-type systems in the world at the University of Edinburgh. Since then, we have continued to discuss these issues, and what is written here would not be without this intellectual debate. Many other colleagues have contributed to develop and spread these ideas around the globe, among these Bernard Choi, Vivian Lin, Stefania Salmaso and the Italian PASSI network, Anne Taylor, and many others. To all of them my gratitude, but all the responsibility for what is written is only mine, and in any case never of the institutions I am representing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Ca’ Foscari Venice, S.Sebastiano - Dorsoduro 1686, 30123, Venice, Italy

    Stefano Campostrini

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  1. Stefano Campostrini
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Correspondence to Stefano Campostrini .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Emory University, Midvale Court 2418, Atlanta, 30084, Georgia, USA

    David V. McQueen

From the Web

From the Web

WHO

Definition of Surveillance

http://www.who.int/topics/public_health_surveillance/en/

Political declaration of the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (September 2011)—http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2F66%2FL.1&Lang=E

A comprehensive global monitoring framework including indicators and a set of voluntary global targets for the prevention and control of NCDs (discussion paper)—http://www.who.int/entity/nmh/events/2012/discussion_paper2_20120322.pdf

WHO commission on Social Determinants of health – Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health—http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241563703_eng.pdf

Rio Political Declaration on Social Determinants of Health – World Conference on Social Determinants of Health (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 21 October 2011)— http://www.who.int/entity/sdhconference/declaration/Rio_political_declaration.pdf

International Union for Health Promotion

White Paper on Surveillance

http://www.iuhpe.org/uploaded/Activities/Scientific_Affairs/GWG/WARFS_white_paper_draft_may_2011.pdf

IUHPE Call for Action on Health Promotion Approaches to Non-communicable Disease Prevention

IUHPE Position Statement on the Social Determinants of Health

http://www.iuhpe.org/uploaded/Activities/Scientific_Affairs/GWG/IUHPEPosition%20paper_SDH_DRAFT_ENG.pdf

IUHPE Key Messages on the Social Determinants of Health (in Folder)

CDC

Evaluation of Public Health Surveillance Systems

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5013a1.htm

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

http://www.cdc.gov/BRFSS

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Campostrini, S. (2013). Surveillance for NCDs and Health Promotion: An Issue of Theory and Method. In: McQueen, D. (eds) Global Handbook on Noncommunicable Diseases and Health Promotion. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7594-1_4

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