Key Epidemiology Program Areas

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The Substance Use Epidemiology Surveillance System (SUESS) is a comprehensive monitoring platform that tracks alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. It integrates data from multiple sources to deliver policy-relevant insights to key public health divisions—such as the Tobacco Unit, the Community and Behavioral Health Unit, and the Policy Unit. Primary data sources used by SUESS include:

• Illinois vital records, offering mortality data linked to substance-related causes
• Emergency department visit data
• Hospital discharge data, capturing trends in treatment and incidents related to substance use,
• National behavioral surveys, like the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS),
• PHESS primary data collection (e.g., a local or emergency surveillance component).

The Opioid Epidemiology Surveillance System (OESS) tracks opioid-related morbidity and mortality, including deaths, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. OESS uses data from vital records, hospital discharge data, and the Medical Examiner’s office reports. In addition to providing data for the Health Atlas, OESS encompasses the Spike Protocol that is executed when there is a suspected spike in opioid overdoses, through which public health officials are alerted to the (potential) spike. This rapid-response work triggers public health messaging through a network of community-based organizations.

The Opioid Epidemiologist is funded through the CDC Opioid Data to Action LOCAL grant, which was awarded to the City of Chicago’s Public Health Department, with CCDPH as a subgrantee.

The Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Surveillance System (MCHESS) monitors indicators of maternal, infant, and child health, including key birth outcomes, prenatal care uptake, pregnancy health, and breastfeeding. We use Illinois vital statistics and hospitalization data, MCHESS is integrated into the Maternal and Child Health Workgroup at CCDPH, representing a model for how epidemiology data can go hand-in-hand with public health programming and policy at CCDPH.

The Chronic Disease Epidemiology Surveillance System monitors the burden, risk factors, and geographic distribution of chronic diseases in suburban Cook County, including morbidity, mortality, and related health behaviors. The program includes heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and related health behaviors. Using data from Illinois vital statistics, hospital discharge records, behavioral health surveys, and other secondary sources, this system also produces small-area estimates to identify and address disparities at the neighborhood level. These efforts are integrated into CCDPH’s broader epidemiology and programmatic initiatives, supporting data-driven public health planning, policy development, and resource allocation to reduce the impact of chronic disease and advance health equity.

The Injury Epidemiology Surveillance System (IESS) monitors the burden, causes, and risk factors of both intentional and unintentional injuries among suburban Cook County residents, with the goal of reducing injury and violence through data-driven prevention strategies. Using data from Illinois vital statistics, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Illinois Violent Death Reporting System, hospital discharge records, and emergency medical services, the IESS tracks injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, traumatic brain injuries, drownings, poisonings, fire-related injuries, firearm-related injuries, suicides/self-harm injuries, and assaults.

The Population Health Epidemiology Surveillance System (PHESS) uses principles of population health sciences to inform a surveillance system that monitors broad indicators of community health, with a focus on health equity measures. PHESS includes indicators such as birth and death rates, life expectancy, environmental health measures, health care access, and neighborhood health. PHESS also encompasses the execution of our primary data collection (the Suburban Cook County Health Survey, the Youth Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, and the School Health Profiles) and the maintenance of the Health Atlas. Population health science principles also inform our approach to all of our epidemiology work, including and especially our commitment to analyzing and disseminating health information rooted in health equity and responsive to community needs. All indicators that we analyze are disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, age, and multiple levels of geography.

The Legal Intervention Epidemiology Surveillance System (LIESS) monitors injuries and deaths resulting from encounters with law enforcement officials and treats injuries and deaths as a critical public health concern. This comprehensive surveillance model integrates hospitalizations, prehospital ambulance data, death certificates, and medical examiners data to capture both fatal and non-fatal events.