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National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Adult and Community Health
Health Care and Aging Studies Branch
Arthritis Program
Mailstop K-51
4770 Buford Highway NE
Atlanta, GA 30341-3724
Phone: 770.488.5464
Fax: 770.488.5964
Email Us |
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Data and Statistics
State Surveillance Recommendations
Surveillance at the state level is essential for assessing the burden of
arthritis, describing how arthritis affects various subpopulations, monitoring
trends over time, and decision making for targeting interventions, allocating
resources, and shaping state health policy. The following recommendations are
intended to provide general direction and consistency for arthritis
surveillance.
Strongly recommended
We encourage all states to participate in the following two surveillance
activities:
- BRFSS—In
odd years use these three sources: a) the "Arthritis
Core"
(Burden Questions), b) the optional
"BRFSS Arthritis Optional Module
(Management Questions), and c) Health-Related Quality Of Life (HRQOL). The Burden Questions and the HRQOL questions appear in
the BRFSS core in odd-numbered years; states need to request that their
BRFSS coordinator use the Arthritis Management Questions (arthritis optional
module) and the HRQOL questions, which appear in an optional module in odd
years (a rationale for including the Arthritis Management Questions
(arthritis optional module) in odd years is
available
(Doc-92K)).
CDC is not including either set of arthritis modules in even years.
Thus, if a state wanted to use these questions in even years they would have
to be included as special state added questions. In even years, we do not believe it is necessary to
ask any arthritis questions
unless you have a strong rationale for doing so (e.g., developing sub-state-level estimates).
We recommend BRFSS arthritis data be analyzed for prevalence, health-related
quality of life, limitations, behavioral arthritis risk factors (e.g., physical
inactivity
and obesity), interventions (e.g., taking an educational course), and by
demographic groups (e.g., age, sex, race/ethnicity). A “state of arthritis
report” should be prepared to disseminate the information every two years.
- Evidence-based interventions—Track the annnual
availability and delivery of evidence-based self-management programs such as
the Arthritis Foundation Self-Help Course (formerly the Arthritis Self-help
Course), the
Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program (formerly PACE), the
Arthritis Foundation Aquatics
Program,
the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, and
EnhanceFitness. Availability measures
the number of programs offered and their geographic dispersion; delivery
measures the number of programs given and the number of persons with arthritis
attending.
Impact Project Report*
(PDF-1.6 MB)
Possible surveillance activities
The following
surveillance data sources may be fruitful. However, states are discouraged from
pursuing these activities unless there is a direct link to program activity and
they are consistent with state arthritis plans:
- Outpatient/ambulatory care data.
- Data from managed care organizations.
- Hospital discharge/joint replacement data.
- Follow-back surveys of persons identified as having
arthritis in BRFSS, other surveys, or other data sources. For example, data to
gauge if state intervention programs are achieving the desired effects might
include:
- Awareness of signs and symptoms of arthritis and
management options available.
- Awareness of the need for early diagnosis and
appropriate management.
- Participation in arthritis self-management programs.
- Early diagnosis and appropriate management of joint
symptoms and arthritis.
- Pain, disability, and quality of life among people
with arthritis.
- States can consider monitoring state trends in relevant
Healthy People 2010 arthritis objectives by adding questions to the BRFSS
(e.g., the optional BRFSS Arthritis Optional
Module (Management Questions)),
conducting special studies, or using
NHIS
Arthritis related questions (CAN 250_00.000 – CAN 297_00.010) (PDF-846K).
Not recommended
These surveillance activities are unlikely to help define the burden of arthritis in your
state or assist in program activities, and should not be pursued unless
there is a special and specific rationale for doing so.
- Mortality data.
- Medicaid data.
- Pharmacy data.
- Trauma registry or other injury data.
- Workers’ Compensation or Social Security Income data.
- Infectious disease surveillance data for gonorrhea or
chlamydia.
- Lyme disease surveillance data.
Page last reviewed: June 8, 2008
Page last modified: September 9, 2008
Content Source: Division of
Adult and Community Health,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
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* Links to non-Federal
organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not
constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal
Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for
the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.
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