Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases
The Detroit Health Department’s Epidemiology Division aims to increase Detroiter’s readiness to address health concerns that impact our communities by:
- Supporting over 40 applied public health services and programs across the city
- Conducting ongoing public health surveillance of reportable diseases
- Investigating and mitigating disease outbreaks
- Disseminating proactive information on effective disease mitigation efforts
- Evaluating health program effectiveness
- Providing support for educational series
- Assisting with healthcare logistics projections
- Improving understanding of health outcomes and existing inequities
- Developing access to population health data and infrastructure
- Aligning comprehensive needs assessments with current community health priorities
Through in-depth analyses of epidemiological data, these efforts influence public health policy and promote improvements in our health systems.
Our Work
The Epidemiology Division works diligently to collect and analyze data related to the distribution, patterns, and determinants of health conditions among Detroit residents, so that they may make informed decisions about their personal health, and the wellbeing of their families and community.
Specific team efforts, for example, include:
- Improving understanding of health outcomes and existing health inequities
- Increasing the publics' access to population health data
- Further developing population health data infrastructure
- Aligning comprehensive needs assessments to focus on community health priorities
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Epidemiology Division drastically expanded its capacity to respond to health crises by producing daily, weekly, and monthly reports on COVID-19. This type of tailored health reporting allows elected officials and other community stakeholders to more effectively craft policy on preventative healthcare in the city.
Data Request Form
The purpose of this form is to notify the Epidemiology team of any population health data needs or to request professional support from our team. Please include the requested information regarding specific metrics and the purpose of the project. This request link is not for health records : Data Request Form
Epidemiology and Communicable Disease Accomplishments
- Over 16,000 communicable disease cases investigated and completed across all reportable groups.
- The division has developed and implemented a new school reporting system for communicable diseases through DocuSign.
- Received 2 special recognitions in the Michigan Association for Local Public Health
- Published one report in an August edition of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
- Presented 6 posters at national conferences (including National Association for City and County Health Officials 360 and Michigan Premiere Public Health Conference)
- Collaborated with Emergency Preparedness and Environmental Health to initiate a partnership with Windsor-Essex County Health Unit in Ontario, Canada.
- Resumed operations of the Gordie Howe International Bridge study, including assessing air quality and health impacts within the Southwest Detroit community, after nearly 3 years of inactivity.
- Launched the Emerging Threats Response Unit to investigate new health and environmental threats in Detroit. This team was adapted from our COVID-19 Investigations team.
- Developed a public Epidemiology Dashboard to display various health conditions facing Detroiters. This dashboard is in its final review stages.
- Developed an internal dashboard utilizing data from Detroit’s Emergency Medical Services depicting Narcan administrations throughout the city in 2024. This dashboard is in its final review stages.
RESOURCES
