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The Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS) is the central repository of medical surveillance data for the US armed forces. The DMSS integrates data from sources worldwide in a continuously-- expanding relational database that documents the military and medical experiences of servicemembers throughout their careers.
The Department of Defense Serum Repository (DoDSR) is a central archive of sera drawn from servicemembers for medical surveillance purposes.
Currently, the DMSS contains data relevant to more than 7 million individuals who have served in the armed forces since 1990, and the DoDSR contains more than 27 million specimens that are linkable to data in the DMSS. Recent applications of the DMSS and DoDSR provide glimpses of the capabilities and uses of comprehensive public health surveillance systems. (Am J Public Health. 2002;92:1900-1904)
PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE is the routine and systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of population-- based data for the purposes of detecting, characterizing, and countering threats to the health, fitness, well-being, and performance of members of defined populations. Many "surveillance systems" have characteristics inconsistent with this definition. For example, many systems are registries of cases or repositories of data relevant to conditions or exposures of a priori interest. In many systems, the data are not routinely or systematically collected or do not refer to defined populations. Some systems have no inherent capabilities to analyze data, interpret results, or disseminate findings in timely ways. Finally, "special interest" systems, such as those targeted at specific diseases, exposures, or subgroups, have narrow focuses and thus limited applications in general public health practice.
In contrast, the potential values of comprehensive public health surveillance are numerous and well recognized.1-8 For example, if population-based demographic, exposure, and medical outcomes data were routinely and systematically collected from various sources; and if such data were integrated in a database and easily analyzed, interpreted, and results reported, then public health officials could detect new and emerging hazards; track rates and trends of illnesses and injuries of concern; prioritize and focus prevention programs (and allocate resources appropriately); document effects of policies and programs; justify requirements for personnel and other resources; project the natures, distributions, and magnitudes of future health care needs; and support health education and medical research activities.
Comprehensive public health surveillance is...