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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2009 Mar 1;100(2):153–156. [Article in French] doi: 10.1007/BF03405527

Validité des données enregistrées dans un nouveau système de surveillance de la mortalité quotidienne à Montréal (Canada)

François Tessier 1,, Céline Plante 1, Tom Kosatsky 1
PMCID: PMC6973569  PMID: 19839295

Abstract

Objectives

Since 2004, a surveillance system provides counts, almost in real time, of the number of deaths per day occurring on the Island of Montreal. The validity of this monitoring tool and its ability to detect spikes in daily deaths, such as can occur due to heat waves, have been evaluated.

Method

Comparison of the number of deaths per day recorded in the monitoring system with the number of deaths per day recorded in the official record of deaths in Quebec for 134 days of 2004.

Results

The monitoring system is accurate (for over 73% of days, the difference in the number of deaths between the two files falls within a range of ±3 deaths given an average of 43 deaths per day). The system identifies more than 80% of all deaths and is efficient in identifying days with excess deaths that are 20% above the average.

Discussion

This novel monitoring system, based on data used mainly for management of medical services, meets contemporary public health requirements in terms of early detection of unusual health events.

Key words: Monitoring system, excess mortality, heat waves

Footnotes

Remerciements: Nous tenons à remercier André Bilodeau (DSP Montréal) pour la transmission des données du fichier VIGIE. Également, nous remercions Michel Fournier, Dr Robert Allard, Lucie Bédard et Maude Beausoleil, tous de la DSP Montréal, pour leurs judicieux et précieux commentaires.

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