Epidemiology

About Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Research

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in a defined population. Surveillance is the ongoing collection, collation, and analysis of data and the timely communication of this information so that action can be taken. Population Health Research is a systematic investigation into the health of a population using unbiased collection, organization, and analysis of data to increase understanding of the determinants of health.

The Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Research program is under the Public Health Unit at NITHA. The Epidemiologist leads the program and provides technical expert advice on public health program evaluation, research methodologies, disease surveillance, and outbreak investigation to guide culturally appropriate and evidence-informed prevention strategies.

Program Goals & Objectives

The program is primarily responsible for health data analytics, surveillance, and epidemiological and population health research to support population health assessment and effective public health practice in 33 Saskatchewan First Nation communities.

The Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Research program provide services such as:

• Develop a data-sharing agreement and set standards to ensure OCAP (Own, Control, Access, and Possess) compliance for and with the NITHA Partners.
• Create and maintain data collection systems to support surveillance and research in communicable and non-communicable diseases, environmental hazards, and related events in consultation with the Medical Health Officer (MHO).
• Conduct descriptive and analytical analysis of surveillance data and timely reports to identify emerging issues and epidemiological trends related to health status.
• Conduct disease outbreak investigations and identify disease clusters to understand the spread of diseases in the community and to support emergency outbreak response.
• Collaborate with NITHA program leads and team to evaluate program performance based on identified performance metrics.
• Work collaboratively with NITHA Partners, the MHO, and Academic institutions to develop, plan and implement epidemiological research using the Two-Eyed Seeing approach to better understand current and emerging public health issues in our Partner communities.
• Support with in-service education and orientation for northern health care providers and the training of health students.

For contact information, please visit our staff page.