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A Friede

Publications and source records attributed to A Friede.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

CDC and ATSDR electronic information resources for health officers.

This article catalogs some of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) more important information resource offerings, which make public health information accessible via computer and automated telephone systems and on electronic media (diskette and CD-ROM). We review mechanisms for (1) finding and retrieving CDC reports, (2) querying CDC's numeric data files, (3) transmitting surveillance and other data files to CDC, (4) exchanging electronic mail with CDC staff, and (5) disseminating state and local public health information and data by using CDC tools. Each resource is followed with a section on how to obtain access to these resources.

CD-ROM↗
PubMed1996

CDC and ATSDR electronic information resources for health officers.

This article catalogues some of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) more important information resource offerings, which make public health information accessible via computer and automated telephone systems and on electronic media (diskette and CD-ROM). We review mechanisms for: (1) finding and retrieving CDC reports, (2) querying CDC's numeric data files, (3) transmitting surveillance and other data files to CDC, (4) exchanging electronic mail with CDC staff, and (5) disseminating state and local public health information and data using CDC tools. Each resource is followed with a section on how to obtain access to these resources.

CD-ROM↗
PubMed1996

CDC WONDER on the Web.

CDC WONDER, an information system developed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides access to 26 text and numeric databases, and special facilities for surveillance, through an architecture developed for public health. We report extensions of the original architecture that allowed us to create a Web version (http:@wonder.cdc.gov).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
PubMed1995

CDC's Information Network for Public Health Officials (INPHO): a framework for integrated public health information and practice.

To strengthen the public health infrastructure, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initiated the Information Network for Public Health Officials (INPHO). CDC INPHO has three goals: (1) to make communication among public health practitioners throughout the United States easy, (2) to make information accessible, and (3) to make secure data exchange as swift and smooth as contemporary technology will allow. Based on a systems approach to supporting the core functions of public health, CDC INPHO achieves its goals by creating a flexible and user-responsive infrastructure of open communications and information exchange.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
PubMed1995

Public health informatics: how information-age technology can strengthen public health.

The combination of the burgeoning interest in health, health care reform and the advent of the Information Age, represents a challenge and an opportunity for public health. If public health's effectiveness and profile are to grow, practitioners and researchers will need reliable, timely information with which to make information-driven decisions, better ways to communicate, and improved tools to analyze and present new knowledge. "Public Health Informatics" (PHI) is the science of applying Information-Age technology to serve the specialized needs of public health. In this paper we define Public Health Informatics, outline specific benefits that may accrue from its widespread application, and discuss why and how an academic discipline of public health informatics should be developed. Finally, we make specific recommendations for actions that government and academia can take to assure that public health professionals have the systems, tools, and training to use PHI to advance the mission of public health.

Communication↗
PubMed1995

Half-life of polybrominated biphenyl in human sera.

Polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), a flame-retardant material, was introduced into the food chain in Michigan in 1973 due to a manufacturing and distribution mistake. Following public concern about the long-term health effects of PBB in humans, a cohort of PBB-exposed Michigan residents was assembled in 1975. We initiated this study to determine the half-life of PBB in human sera and to understand how continued body burden relates to the possible adverse health consequences of PBB exposure. To determine the half-life, eligible persons were selected from the cohort if they had at least two PBB measurements 1 year apart and had an initial level > or = 20 pbb. There were 163 persons who met the criteria with a median PBB level of 45.5 ppb. The estimated half-life is 10.8 years (95% CI, 9.2-14.7 years). The body burden of PBB in exposed persons will decrease only gradually over time. For persons with an initial level of 45.5 ppb of PBB, it will take more than 60 years for their PBB levels to fall below the current level of detection of 1 ppb.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The rapid implementation of a statewide emergency health information system during the 1993 Iowa flood.

In the face of disastrous flooding, the Iowa Department of Public Health established the statewide Emergency Computer Communications Network to establish rapid electronic reporting of disaster-related health data, provide e-mail communications among all county health departments, monitor the long-range public health effects of the disaster, and institute a general purpose public health information system in Iowa. Based on software (CDC WONDER/PC) provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and using standard personal computers and modems, this system has resulted in a 10- to 20-fold increase in surveillance efficiency at the health department, not including time saved by county network participants. It provides a critical disaster assessment capability to the health department but also facilitates the general practice of public health.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1993

On-line access to a cost-benefit/cost-effectiveness analysis bibliography via CDC WONDER.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is undertaking an assessment of prevention effectiveness; using information from cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis (CBA/CEA) studies will be integral to this effort. To facilitate this work, a bibliography of articles that discusses both the costs and consequences of personal health services has been created. For 1979 to 1990, 3,206 articles were identified and classified into more than 250 topics. To provide simplified, readily available access to this resource in a system in which searches would not be key-word dependent, the authors created an on-line version of the bibliography and incorporated it into CDC WONDER, the CDC's on-line public health information system. Users can limit their queries by traditional bibliographic criteria (author, journal, publication type, year of publication, and country of origin); the full text of the abstract; or criteria particular to the CBA/CEA bibliography (topic, study type, and medical function). Having the CBA/CEA bibliography in CDC WONDER allows it to be searched and updated easily and also permits researchers to create personalized subsets of references. This on-line bibliography should help researchers in their efforts to identify gaps in knowledge of the relationship between costs and outcomes and the role of prevention in controlling health care expenditures.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
PubMed1993

CDC WONDER: a comprehensive on-line public health information system of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

OBJECTIVES: CDC WONDER, a comprehensive on-line public health information system of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was developed to place timely, action-oriented information in the hands of public health professionals. METHODS: A unified system was developed de novo to be used for and to evolve along with public health. All data are stored and updated on the CDC mainframe. RESULTS: CDC WONDER provides menu-driven access to 24 databases with information on mortality, hospital discharges, cancer incidence, notifiable diseases, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, etc.; each database has on-line documentation. Results can be tabulated and graphed, and there is full-text searching of textual databases. Non-CDC staff have access via telephone connection. From August 1991 through June 1992, system databases were accessed 10,698 times, and there were 842 users (mean of 97 new users per month). CONCLUSIONS: CDC WONDER has shown that it is possible to build a large, on-line database of scientific data for public health professionals. CDC WONDER provides a common foundation from which to build information-based public health plans and policy and could help strengthen the public health system.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
PubMed1988

The postponement of neonatal deaths into the postneonatal period: evidence from Massachusetts.

Part of the slow decline in the postneonatal mortality rate and the rapid decline in the neonatal mortality rate during the 1970s may have been due to a postponement of some neonatal deaths into the postneonatal period. The authors hypothesized that any such postponement should be accompanied by a lack of decline, or even an increase, in late neonatal and postneonatal mortality rates among low birth weight babies and babies dying of conditions originating in the perinatal period. To examine this theory, the authors used vital records data to compare infant mortality rates in Massachusetts during 1970-1972 with rates during 1978-1980. Log-linear hazard models were used to calculate death rates, while controlling for changes in maternal age, race, education, and prior reproductive history. The authors found that babies of birth weight under 1,500 g had no decline in late neonatal mortality rates and babies of birth weight under 2,500 g had no decline in postneonatal mortality rates. Babies of birth weight 500-999 g had an increased postneonatal mortality rate (rate ratio = 2.4; 95% confidence limits = 1.0-5.4). These unimproved or increased death rates were due in part to conditions originating in the perinatal period. The authors conclude that, although infant mortality rates have declined, this postponement was real, and that efforts to monitor infant mortality will benefit from its routine quantification.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

Transmission of hepatitis B virus from adopted Asian children to their American families.

In 1985, 6,991 Asian children were adopted by Americans. To estimate the risk that such children may transmit hepatitis B virus to their adoptive families, we conducted a cumulative-incidence follow-up study in the State of Washington. We examined the association between having adopted a hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-seropositive Asian child and serologic evidence of past or present hepatitis B virus infection in adoptive family members. Seven (9 per cent) of 77 family members exposed to an HBsAg-seropositive child had evidence of past or present infection compared with four (2 per cent) of 232 nonexposed (relative risk = 5.3; 90% confidence limits [CL] = 2.0-13.9). The risk was higher for those with prolonged exposure and was entirely restricted to parents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Older maternal age and infant mortality in the United States.

We used data from the National Infant Mortality Surveillance project to examine the effect of older maternal age on infant mortality for the 1980 United States birth cohort. The 1,579,854 births and 14,591 deaths of singletons who were black or white and whose mothers were 25-49 years of age were included. Direct standardization was used to calculate birth-weight-adjusted relative risks of neonatal and postneonatal mortality, using the birth weights of infants with maternal age 25-29 as the standard. We found that the risk of infant mortality was nearly equal for infants born to mothers 25-29 and 30-34 years of age; infants born to mothers 35-39 years of age were at a slightly elevated (18% higher) risk, and those born to mothers 40-49 years of age were at a much more elevated (69% higher) risk. Among whites, the higher neonatal mortality associated with a maternal age of 35-39 was mostly due to an increased prevalence of low birth weight; among blacks, it was due to higher birth-weight-specific risks. Neither white nor black postneonatal mortality risks were much elevated until a maternal age of 40-49, and this last elevation was mostly due to higher birth-weight-specific risks. These findings suggest that infertility and fetal mortality aside, and considering only the effect on infant mortality, it is relatively safe for women to postpone childbearing into their middle, and perhaps late, thirties.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Ectopic pregnancy mortality in the United States, 1970-1983.

Ectopic pregnancy is now the second leading cause of maternal mortality in the United States. We describe changes in ectopic pregnancy mortality and characterize the risk of death from ectopic pregnancy for different groups, using ectopic pregnancy deaths identified by the national Vital Statistics System for 1970-1983, ectopic pregnancy-related deaths investigated by the Centers for Disease Control for 1979-1982, and ectopic pregnancy cases estimated from the National Hospital Discharge Survey for 1970-1983. During both 1970-1976 and 1977-1983, women of black and other races were at significantly increased risk of death from ectopic pregnancy compared with white women. This increased risk held for all ages and all geographic regions. Little variation existed in the risk of death from ectopic pregnancy by age and geographic region. From 1970-1983, the risk of death from ectopic pregnancy declined among all races and ages in all regions. These data suggest that black women, and in particular teenagers and older women, may have inadequate access to gynecologic and prenatal services. Active outreach may reduce the risk of death from ectopic pregnancy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Abdominal pregnancy in the United States: frequency and maternal mortality.

From an analysis of 11 abdominal pregnancy-related deaths and an estimated 5221 abdominal pregnancies in the United States, we estimated that there were 10.9 abdominal pregnancies per 100,000 live births and 9.2 per 1000 ectopic pregnancies; the mortality rate was 5.1 per 1000 cases. Although the risk of having an ectopic pregnancy is rising, the risk of abdominal pregnancy, which is probably always a sequel of a missed ruptured ectopic pregnancy, is apparently declining; this may be due to improved prenatal care. However, only one of nine women who reached the hospital alive had an accurate preoperative diagnosis of abdominal pregnancy, which suggests that preventing abdominal pregnancy-related death may depend, at least in part, upon increasing physicians' awareness of its clinical features.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Do the sisters of childbearing teenagers have increased rates of childbearing?

In 1983, 89,000 children were born to United States women aged less than or equal to 16. To reduce teenage fertility rates, public health workers will need to identify teenagers at elevated risk for childbearing. We tested the hypothesis that the sisters of childbearing teenagers may form such a group. We performed an historical cohort study of 3,767 teenagers aged 12-16 years who were enrolled in Arkansas Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), 1978-81; they had 247 pregnancies. Multivariable log-linear hazard models were used to control and study age, race, number of AFDC-eligibles per household, and county urbanization and family planning services. Teenagers whose sisters bore children had elevated rate ratios (RR) for childbearing (RR = 1.8; 95% Confidence Limits [CL] = 1.2-2.6), as did Blacks (RR = 3.1; 95% CL = 2.0-4.8), and members of households with more than nine AFDC-eligibles (RR = 1.7; 95% CL = 1.1-2.6). Because they may have elevated childbearing rates, and would be easy to contact, the sisters of pregnant teenagers could form an important target population for family planning efforts.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

CDC WONDER: a cooperative processing architecture for public health.

CDC WONDER is an information management architecture designed for public health. It provides access to information and communications without the user's needing to know the location of data or communication pathways and mechanisms. CDC WONDER users have access to extractions from some 40 databases; electronic mail (e-mail); and surveillance data processing. System components include the Remote Client, the Communications Server, the Queue Managers, and Data Servers and Process Servers. The Remote Client software resides in the user's machine; other components are at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Remote Client, the Communications Server, and the Applications Server provide access to the information and functions in the Data Servers and Process Servers. The system architecture is based on cooperative processing, and components are coupled via pure message passing, using several protocols. This architecture allows flexibility in the choice of hardware and software. One system limitation is that final results from some subsystems are obtained slowly. Although designed for public health, CDC WONDER could be useful for other disciplines that need flexible, integrated information exchange.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗