PHSkb: a knowledgebase to support notifiable disease surveillance.
BACKGROUND
Notifiable disease surveillance in the United States is predominantly a passive process that is often limited by poor timeliness and low sensitivity. Interoperable tools are needed that interact more seamlessly with existing clinical and laboratory data to improve notifiable disease surveillance.


METHODS
The Public Health Surveillance Knowledgebase (PHSkb) is a computer database designed to provide quick, easy access to domain knowledge regarding notifiable diseases and conditions in the United States. The database was developed using Protégé ontology and knowledgebase editing software. Data regarding the notifiable disease domain were collected via a comprehensive review of state health department websites and integrated with other information used to support the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). Domain concepts were harmonized, wherever possible, to existing vocabulary standards. The knowledgebase can be used: 1) as the basis for a controlled vocabulary of reportable conditions needed for data aggregation in public health surveillance systems; 2) to provide queriable domain knowledge for public health surveillance partners; 3) to facilitate more automated case detection and surveillance decision support as a reusable component in an architecture for intelligent clinical, laboratory, and public health surveillance information systems.


CONCLUSIONS
The PHSkb provides an extensible, interoperable system architecture component to support notifiable disease surveillance. Further development and testing of this resource is needed.
Doyle
Timothy J
TJ
Division of Public Health Surveillance and Informatics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. tdoyle@cdc.gov
Ma
Haobo
H
Groseclose
Samuel L
SL
Hopkins
Richard S
RS
D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003628:Database Management Systems; D018563:Disease Notification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D035082:Federal Government; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011635:Public Health Administration; D040442:Public Health Informatics / Q000592:standards*; D012984:Software; D013219:State Government; D018511:Systems Integration; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D018875:Vocabulary, Controlled