Gathering public health data
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How we gather public health data
At the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), we get our data from various sources, such as:
- public health surveillance
- surveys
- public engagement and consultation
Public health surveillance
Public health surveillance involves the ongoing collection, analysis and interpretation of data to help us develop effective policies and programs.
In Canada, several groups share responsibility for surveillance, therefore we get most of our data through agreements with other departments and organizations, such as:
- regional health authorities
- federal, provincial and territorial partners
- private organizations, such as pharmaceutical companies
We conduct surveillance in 2 major categories:
- infectious diseases
- chronic diseases and health conditions
At PHAC we have programs and corresponding surveillance systems to track patterns in these categories, such as:
- cancer
- food-borne diseases
- sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections
Example: Surveillance on opioid and stimulant-related harms
Canada is facing a national public health overdose crisis that continues to have devastating impacts on communities and families.
PHAC keeps track of drug-related harms in Canada. The data we gather helps inform decision makers and guide actions to reduce drug-related harms in Canada.
This data comes from several sources. For example:
- Chief Coroners and Chief Medical Examiners in the provinces and territories provide data on fatal overdoses.
- The Canadian Institute for Health Information provides data on overdoses resulting in hospitalization.
- Emergency Medical Services in the provinces and territories provide data on suspected opioid overdoses.
Learn more about the data, surveillance and research guiding the Government of Canada's response to the overdose crisis.
Surveys
Surveys collect standardized health information from a sample of people to better understand a larger population.
We use different methods to conduct surveys, such as:
- phone interviews
- online questionnaires
Example: Canadian COVID-19 Antibody and Health Survey
We work with partners to gather evidence on the health impacts of the pandemic. This includes potential long-term effects of the virus.
We recently partnered with Statistics Canada and the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force to launch a second cycle of the Canadian COVID-19 Antibody and Health Survey.
This survey has 2 parts: an electronic questionnaire, and a testing kit to collect dried blood and saliva samples.
The data gathered helps us better understand:
- chronic conditions and symptoms
- challenges associated with access to health care
- long-term effects and impacts of the pandemic on the health and well-being of people in Canada
Public engagement and consultation
We also gather data through public and stakeholder engagement on a variety of topics. We collect this data to help us make better policies and programs.
Example: Guidelines and processes for the economic evaluation of vaccination programs in Canada
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) provides us with ongoing and timely medical, scientific and public health advice related to vaccination.
NACI consults with multiple stakeholders, including:
- industry
- academia
- the general public
- patient advocacy groups
- public health organizations
- immunization-related organizations
The data we obtain through these consultations helps to shape the development of:
- NACI Economic Guidelines, which outlines best practices for conducting and reporting economic evaluations of vaccination programs in Canada
- NACI Economic Process,which outlines when and how NACI uses economic evidence for vaccine recommendations
Learn more about PHAC's consultations, including what type of information is collected, through the Consulting with Canadians portal.
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