Annual rate of vaccine-preventable diseases reported to DHHS: 

All case counts come from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services infectious disease tracking system, EpiTrax. Population estimates came from IBIS's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute Population Estimates for 2017-2021. 

 Vaccine preventable disease rates include reported cases of: 

chickenpox, diphtheria, haemophilus influenzae, hepatitis A, measles, meningococcal disease (neisseria meningitidis), mumps, pertussis, streptococcus pneumoniae, hepatitis B, acute or chronic, poliomyelitis, rubella, and tetanus.

Annual rate of enteric disease cases reported to DHHS:

All case counts come from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services infectious disease monitoring system, EpiTrax. Population estimates came from IBIS's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute Population Estimates for 2017-2021. 

Enteric disease cases include: 

botulism, campylobacteriosis, cholera (vibrio cholerae), cryptosporidiosis, cyclosporiasis,  giardiasis, listeriosis, salmonellosis, shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli (STEC) infection, shigellosis, trichinellosis, typhoid fever, vibriosis, and yersinosis.

 The target value is the 5-year average rate of enteric disease cases from 2017-2021.

Annual rate of emergency department visits for chronic conditions:

Annual age-adjusted ED visit rates for chronic conditions for 2017-2022, including: acute myocardial infarction, alzheimer's disease, asthma, cerebrovascular diseases (stroke), diabetes mellitus, emphysema, hypertensive heart disease, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and parkinson's disease.

Annual rate of emergency department visits for injuries:

Annual age-adjusted rates of ED visits for injuries based on injury related ICD-10 codes, 2017-2022.

Emergency department data notes: 

Statistical significance was determined by comparing the confidence intervals (listed in the comment) of each year to the prior year. If the confidence intervals overlapped the change was not considered significant. The confidence bounds are asymmetric. 

ICD Stands for International Classification of Diseases. It is a coding system maintained by the World Health Organization and the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics used to classify causes of death on death certificates and diagnoses, injury causes, and medical procedures for hospital and emergency department visits. These codes are updated every decade or so to account for advances in medical technology. The U.S. is currently using the 10th revision (ICD-10) to code causes of death. 

Rates are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.

All ED encounters: All ED encounters includes all treat and release patients and all inpatient admissions through the ED.

Emergency department data sources:

 For years 2000-2019 the population estimates are provided by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) through a collaborative agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau. For years 2020 and later, the population estimates are provided by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Utah state and county annual population estimates are by single year of age and sex, IBIS version 2021

Emergency department data issues:

The Emergency Department Encounter Database (ED) contains the consolidated information on complete billing, medical codes, personal characteristics describing a patient, services received, and charges billed for each patient emergency department (ED) encounter. The Office of Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness/Office of Health Care Statistics receives quarterly emergency department encounter data from hospitals in various formats and media. The data are converted into a standardized format. The data are validated through a process of automated editing and report verification. Each record is subjected to a series of edits that check for accuracy, consistency, completeness, and conformity with the definitions specified in the Utah Hospital Emergency Patient Encounter Data Submittal Manual. Records failing the edit check are returned to the data supplier for corrections or comment.

Coverage and validity of diagnosis codes: Since the data come from the billing forms, all visits or encounters have a diagnosis code which makes coverage great. There is some difference of opinion about whether some providers may emphasize diagnosis codes that yield higher reimbursements. The hospital and ED data are considered "administrative data" because they were created for use in billing and remittance of payment. They were not primarily constructed for public health surveillance purposes, and are weak in some areas, such as external cause of injury and race or ethnicity. But, in general, they are extremely valuable and reasonably complete and valid.

This is a composite measure developed by the DPH team based on a subset of reportable injuries and illnesses of concern. We collect this data from reportable disease information reported to public health as well as emergency department visit information from Utah emergency departments. We do not have access to this information for other states, so national trend data is not available. 

Annual rate of vaccine-preventable diseases reported to DHHS: 

Overall morbidity for vaccine-preventable diseases was lower in 2020 and 2021, relative to 2017-2019, due to social distancing, masking, and other factors secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decrease in the overall rate of vaccine-preventable diseases in Utah is expected to be temporary, so it's still very important to stay up-to-date on routine vaccinations to prevent these diseases. 

Annual rate of enteric disease cases reported to DHHS:

Incidences of enteric illness reported to DHHS remained relatively unchanged between 2017-2021, though there was a significant decrease in 2020. This decrease could have been related to changes in healthcare-seeking behavior as well as daily life and hygiene practices for many people during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as increased hand washing, restaurant closures, and fewer people traveling. A similar trend was also reported in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report by the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network.

Annual rate of emergency department visits for chronic conditions:

In Utah, chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability. They accounted for 31,077 emergency department visits in 2022. The Division of Population Health Office of Health Promotion and Prevention supports programs that work toward management and prevention of many chronic diseases, including: acute myocardial infarction, alzheimer's disease, asthma, cerebrovascular diseases (stroke), diabetes mellitus, emphysema, hypertensive heart disease, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and parkinson's disease. Chronic diseases are defined broadly as conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention, limit activities of daily living, or both. The health risk factors of physical inactivity, tobacco use and exposure, and poor nutrition are the leading causes of chronic disease. Chronic diseases have significant health and economic costs in Utah. Interventions to prevent and manage these diseases have significant health and economic benefits.

The decrease in ED visits related to chronic diseases observed in 2020 could be due to the decrease in overall ED visits and may not reflect specific decreases in chronic disease-related visits. 

Annual rate of emergency department visits for injuries:

In Utah, violence and injury are leading causes of death and disability. They account for 181,295 emergency department visits in 2022. Injury includes a wide range of health topics, from unintentional injuries, such as car crashes and falls, to intentional injuries, such as assault and suicide. The consequences of injury are not just physical. Many people who suffer an injury may also have mental health and financial problems that can last a lifetime. The good news is that many injuries are preventable. From seat belts to violence prevention programs, injury prevention saves lives.

The decrease in ED visits related to injuries observed in 2020 could be due to the decrease in overall ED visits and may not reflect specific decreases in injury related visits.