Definition
In order to generalize findings from surveillance to the target population at large, the data from a surveillance system should reflect the population characteristics related to time, place, and person. Representativeness is assessed by comparing the characteristics of health events detected through a surveillance system with those of all such health events in the target population. A lack of representativeness may lead to misallocation of health resources .
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© 2008 Springer-Verlag
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(2008). Representativeness of a Surveillance System . In: Kirch, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Public Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_2998
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_2998
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5613-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5614-7
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