AUTHOR=Sandifer Paul A. , Singer Burton H. , Colwell Rita R. 

TITLE=The U.S. Needs a National Human Health Observing System

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.705597

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.705597

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=•	The COVID-19 pandemic and increasing frequency of environmental disasters reveal an urgent need for a health observing/surveillance system
•	With the possible exception of Brazil, we know of no such system
•	The US should create a national system of linked regionally-based health monitoring systems similar to those for weather, ocean conditions, and climate
•	Like those for weather, the health observing system should operate continuously, collecting mental, physical, and community health data before, during, and after events
•	The system should include existing cross-sectional health data surveys, along with significant new investment in regional longitudinal cohort studies
•	The recently described framework for a Gulf of Mexico Community Health Observing System is suggested as a potential model for development of a nation-wide system