Epidemiology & Assessment

Preventing disease and injury among Hamilton County residents is a primary goal for staff at Hamilton County Public Health (HCPH).  The Division of Epidemiology and Assessment works to detect and help diagnose community health issues in Hamilton County that run the gamut from outbreaks of infectious disease to a high infant mortality rate.

Epidemiology

At Hamilton County Public Health, our epidemiologists conduct disease and injury surveillance through the ongoing collection, analysis, and reporting of public health data.  This information is used to characterize the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of public health issues that are important to our community.  Our epidemiologists conduct research to identify and investigate the risk factors associated with disease and injury in our community.  The information generated from the Division of Epidemiology can be used for community planning, the detection of emerging health problems, program evaluation, the stimulation of local research, and to inform public health intervention.  The Division of Epidemiology prides itself in being a rich source of public health data for our community, health care partners, and all other stakeholders.  Epidemiology Staff Members

Core Services and Data

  • Communicable Disease Surveillance & Outbreak Investigation
    Epidemiologists and disease investigators monitor the incidence of communicable diseases in Hamilton County and investigate/mitigate multiple outbreaks each year that affect our residents. Communicable diseases are illnesses that are caused by infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Tracking these diseases allows state and local health departments to detect unusual incidences of disease, investigate sources of infection, implement effective control measures, and develop programs and policies to prevent the spread of disease. Weekly and monthly surveillance reports are circulated among stakeholders such as infection control practitioners in our local hospitals.  Moreover, epidemiologists track and investigate unusual increases in emergency department registrations as well school absenteeism in an effort to understand the impact of disease on our local population and to promote early detection of outbreaks. The most recent expanded communicable disease report can be accessed by visiting our reports page (click here). The Community AHEAD program tool also provides access to local health statistics.   
  • Maternal and Infant Health
    Hamilton County Public Health is part of a county-wide initiative to improve maternal and infant health and to reduce infant mortality— a significant, troubling problem in Hamilton County.  In order to take effective actions to improve the health and safety of infants and children in our community, it is essential to identify, describe and monitor these problems and the populations at risk. Monthly, our epidemiologists work to monitor and report the frequency of infant deaths and the associated risk factors such as pre-term birth; visit our reports page to review the most recent reports (click here). Maternal and Infant Health data will soon be loaded to our Community AHEAD program tool.  Our division also provides analytical services to support the shared objectives of other agencies; please see the Child Fatality Review Report produced jointly by the Hamilton County Family and Children First Council and HCPH (click here).
  • Injury Surveillance
    The HCISS is a collaborative surveillance effort led by Hamilton County Public Health and supported by the following local partners: The Christ Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Deaconess Hospital, the Office of the Hamilton County Coroner, Mercy Health Partners, TriHealth, UC Health, and the Greater Cincinnati Health Council.  Injury is a significant, preventable problem in Hamilton County.  Injury data are collected and analyzed each year; local injury assessments and statistics can be located on our reports page (click here) and within the Community AHEAD program tool, respectively.  In 2011, our epidemiologists began working with the GCHC Tri-State Trauma Coalition to merge efforts and understand the impact of injury in the community and on our health care delivery system.  In 2012, the team will work to issue brief reports on select mechanisms of injury that affect our population.    
  • Vital Statistics 
    Hamilton County Public Health issues birth and death certificates (click here for more information on these services). Our epidemiologists manage the data behind the birth and death certificates. The vital statistics data contain valuable information that can be used to calculate statistics such as cause-specific death rates and the rates of adverse birth outcomes (e.g., pre-term birth, infant mortality). Birth and death data will soon be loaded to our Community AHEAD program tool. Please see our community health profiles on our reports page to access community-specific reports on a wide range of health issues in Hamilton County (click here).
           

Community Access to Hamilton County Epidemiology & Assessment Data (AHEAD)

The Community AHEAD Program is a new effort to share public health data with the community.  The goal of this program is to use available data to improve our understanding of the health issues that affect our local communities.  The first step in advancing the health status of our county is to understand local trends associated with disease and injury.  Click on any of the buttons below to view charts, maps, and tables for select health indicators within Hamilton County communities.  

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Preterm Births, Low Birth Weight, Teen Births... (Coming Soon)Death Rates and Select Causes of Death (Coming Soon)

Select Reportable Communicable Diseases (Updated 2011) Select Mechanisms of Injury (Updated 2011)

Tip: use the tool to download data, save statistical views, and create downloadable reports.!

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Data Requests

Still can't locate the local health data you need?  Please contact Hamilton County Public Health (513-946-7800) for consultation.  The HPCH Division of Epidemiology and Assessment requires the completion of a Data Request Form (select to download).  Once completed, the form must be faxed to 513-946-7943, mailed to HCPH (Attention to Epidemiology), or e-mailed to Ted.Folger@Hamilton-co.org.  All requesters are strongly encouraged contact the Division of Epidemiology and Assessment prior to submitting a request; several factors such as the scope and sensitivity of a request must be reviewed prior to approval of all data requests.  Please review the Ohio Department of Health Data Disclosure Policy.

Epidemiology Staff Members

  • Ted Folger, MS, Director........................................................................513.946.7924
  • Craig Davidson, MS, RS, Epidemiologist..........................................513.946.7617
  • Dan Bush, MPH, Epidemiologist/Data...............................................513.946.7620
  • David Carlson, MPH, Epidemiologist.................................................513.946.7933
  • John Besl, MA, Analyst, Cincinnati Children's Hospital MC............513.946.7931

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