Surveillance System Standards

 

 

Supporting Information: 

 

The documentation of responsible parties need not follow this format, but the individuals or 

groups responsible for these functions must be identified.  The responsible parties should be 

engaged in the surveillance planning process to provide input regarding their expected role.   

 

 

Class Guidelines 

Users of surveillance 

system information 

(stakeholders) 

Are those who are: 

 Policymakers 

 Information 

users 

  Beneficiaries of the surveillance information 

 Data 

providers 

 

Responsible parties 

for designing, 

implementing, 

managing, and 

disseminating 

information 

Are the groups of individuals responsible for various aspects of the 

surveillance system, including:  

 Surveillance 

system 

design 

  Surveillance system implementation and leadership  

  Data application design, development, and implementation  

  Data application support and maintenance  

  Data collection, including field data collection and laboratory 

data management 

  Field data collection 

 Laboratory 

testing 

  Who detects cases 

 Who 

confirms 

cases 

  Who reports cases 

  Field training of data collectors, data entry personnel, etc. 

See Chapter 3 

  Data analysis and interpretation 

  Results dissemination and reporting  

  Actions based on surveillance findings  

  Review of surveillance system effectiveness 

 

Stakeholders and responsible parties should be provided with appropriate information so they 

understand the expected outcomes of the surveillance system.  

 

The IT team should be identified early in the surveillance planning process.  This team identifies 

and articulates (1) business processes needed to capture inputs and produce appropriate 

outputs, (2) business rules for data collection, and (3) the risks, constraints, and assets of the 

data system.  

 

1.6   Population Description and Characteristics 

Standard: 

The population under surveillance is well defined in system planning documents 

and in system reports and publications. The population description inherently 

describes the scope or reach of the system (i.e., National, State, regional, local, 

and neighborhood.) 

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Supporting Information: 

 

Depending on the structure of the system, at least two populations need to be described for 

most surveillance systems. The target population is the universe of eligible units at risk of the 

condition under surveillance, which gives rise to sampled units or cases.  If the target 

population is sampled, then the study population should be described.  The study population is 

the universe of sampled units that are investigated or counted in the surveillance system.  If 

the target population is not sampled, then the catchment area of the population from which the 

reported cases come should be described.  

 

The description of the population should include total size, animal type, administrative units, 

date(s) of surveillance, sampling design, and known risk factors.  The following table provides 

more definition to these classes of a complete population description.  See Chapter 2, data 

standards. 

 

Class Guidelines 

Sampling units 

  Should be identified and clearly defined.  These may be simple 

units (individuals) or aggregates (herds or flocks).  

  Geographic or spatial measures should be included, e.g., flocks 

per sq. km. 

  Time constraints, if present, are included in description of the 

sampling unit. 

Target population 

(not to be 

confused with 

targeted 

population) 

  Population about which statistical inference will be made (general 

population at-risk) should be identified and clearly defined or 

estimated. 

  If different from study population, the rationale for inference 

should be provided. 

  Size of target population, e.g., number of herds by State, total 

number of animals by county, or population by Zip Code.  (Note:  

Some NASS data are currently available at the Zip Code level.) 

Study population 

  The population from which the sample is to be drawn should be 

identified and clearly defined.  In most cases, should be same as 

target population. 

  Size of study population, (e.g., number of herds by State; total 

number of animals by county.) 

  The sample frame (list of units to be sampled) from the study 

population should be identified. 

Targeted 

population 

  The population defined by specific disease variables inherent to 

the disease in question, (e.g., cattle with “high risk” clinical signs 

compatible with BSE.) 

  The targeted population is intended to create intentional and 

predictable bias in the sample frame. 

  If inference is made to the target (general) population of interest, 

a detailed explanation of the biological justification for the 

inference must be included.  

Administrative 

units 

  Define and include which units are included in the surveillance 

system , (e.g., States, regions, zones, counties,  Zip Code areas, 

statistical reporting units, sample grid references, neighborhoods, 

and parcels.) 

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