Hahn R A, Stroup D F
Division of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333.
Public Health Rep. 1994 Jan-Feb;109(1):7-15.
Public health surveillance is the cornerstone of public health practice. The uses of surveillance include the identification of patterns of health among population subgroups. The assessment of race and ethnicity in public health surveillance is fundamental to the reduction of preventable excesses in poor health among racial and ethnic populations. We review the use of race and ethnic variables in national public health surveillance systems in the United States. One barrier to the use of race and ethnicity in public health surveillance is the lack of scientific consensus on the nature of race and ethnicity and the measurement of these variables. Differences in terminology, data collection procedures, perceptions of group identity, and changing demographics of the U.S. population present particular challenges for surveillance. We propose criteria for any useful variables collected through surveillance. Application of these criteria to race and ethnicity suggests that race as assessed in surveillance is not primarily associated with biological characteristics, but it is more like ethnicity--a matter of self-perceived membership in population groups. Regular evaluation of surveillance systems will contribute to the usefulness of information on race and ethnicity in the improvement of the health of minority populations.
公共卫生监测是公共卫生实践的基石。监测的用途包括识别亚人群体中的健康模式。在公共卫生监测中评估种族和族裔对于减少种族和族裔人群中可预防的健康过度情况至关重要。我们回顾了美国国家公共卫生监测系统中种族和族裔变量的使用情况。在公共卫生监测中使用种族和族裔的一个障碍是，对于种族和族裔的本质以及这些变量的测量缺乏科学共识。术语差异、数据收集程序、群体认同观念以及美国人口不断变化的人口结构给监测带来了特殊挑战。我们提出了通过监测收集的任何有用变量的标准。将这些标准应用于种族和族裔表明，监测中评估的种族主要与生物学特征无关，而更类似于族裔——这是一个自我认定的群体成员身份问题。定期评估监测系统将有助于提高关于种族和族裔的信息在改善少数族裔健康方面的有用性。
