Mississippi State Department of Health, Jackson, MS 39215-1700, USA.
Am J Public Health. 2011 Nov;101(11):2178-83. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300132. Epub 2011 May 12.
We described and evaluated the 2009-2010 Pennsylvania Influenza Sentinel School Monitoring System, a voluntary sentinel network of schools that report data on school absenteeism and visits to the school nurse for influenza-like illness (ILI).
Participating schools provided daily absenteeism and ILI data on a weekly basis through an online survey. We used participation and weekly response rates to determine acceptability, timeliness, and simplicity. We assessed representativeness by comparing participating schools with nonparticipating schools. We compared monitoring system data with statewide reports of laboratory-confirmed influenza.
Of the 3244 Pennsylvania public schools, 367 (11%) enrolled in the system. On average, 79% of enrolled schools completed the survey each week. Although the peak week of elevated absenteeism coincided with the peak of statewide laboratory-confirmed influenza cases, the correlation between absenteeism and state data was nonsignificant (correlation coefficient = 0.10; P = .56). Trends in ILI correlated significantly with state data (correlation coefficient = 0.67; P < .001).
The school-based sentinel system is a simple, acceptable, reliable device for tracking absenteeism and ILI in schools. Further analyses are necessary to determine the comparative value of this system and other influenza surveillance systems.
我们描述并评估了宾夕法尼亚州 2009-2010 年流感监测哨点学校系统，这是一个自愿的学校哨点网络，报告有关学校缺课和因流感样疾病（ILI）就诊于校医的数据。
参与学校通过在线调查每周提供一次关于每日缺勤和 ILI 的数据。我们使用参与率和每周应答率来确定可接受性、及时性和简单性。我们通过将参与学校与未参与学校进行比较来评估代表性。我们将监测系统数据与全州范围内实验室确诊流感的报告进行了比较。
在宾夕法尼亚州的 3244 所公立学校中，有 367 所（11%）参加了该系统。平均而言，每周有 79%的注册学校完成了调查。尽管缺勤率升高的高峰周与全州范围内实验室确诊流感病例的高峰相吻合，但缺勤率与州数据之间的相关性无统计学意义（相关系数=0.10；P=0.56）。ILI 趋势与州数据显著相关（相关系数=0.67；P<0.001）。
基于学校的哨点系统是一种简单、可接受、可靠的跟踪学校缺勤和 ILI 的工具。需要进一步分析以确定该系统与其他流感监测系统的相对价值。
