Communicable Diseases: the Reporting Law

1
Communicable Diseases the Reporting Law
Incidence in Southeastern Kentucky

• Nurse Practitioner Meeting
• Jenny Wiley State Park
• August 6, 2005
• Lyle B. Snider, Ph.D.
• Big Sandy Regional Public Health Epidemiologist

2
Who Submits the Communicable Disease Reports?

• Data on Reporting Agencies is VERY Difficult to
  Analyze The Following Results Have a Large
  Margin of Error
• 1,320 Cases
• 67 Had NO Data Relating to Agency That Reported
  the Case
• There Were 1,625 Reports of the Remaining 1,250
  Cases Because Some Cases Were Reported by 2 or 3
  Agencies
• 180 Agencies Reported Cases
• 80 Agencies Reported Only 1 Case

3
6 Agencies Made Half of Reports
60 Cases, (4 of Total) Were Submitted by
Ambulatory Care Practices Lexington Clinic,
Louisville Community Health Centers,
Pediatricians, etc.
4
Is County Reporting Rate Related to Size of
Hospital or Metro/Non-Metro Status?
2000 Census County Metro/Non-Metro Status 2002
Acute Care Hospitals
Non-metro Metro
5
2004 KY Communicable Disease Case Reports per
100,000 Population by Largest Hospital in County
and Metro (Urban)/Non-Metro (Rural)
6
What Can We Do to Get More Complete Reporting?