Volume 11, Number 1—January 2005
Research
Capacity of State and Territorial Health Agencies to Prevent Foodborne Illness
Richard E. Hoffman*
, Jesse Greenblatt†, Bela T. Matyas‡, Donald J. Sharp§, Emilio Esteban¶, Knachelle Hodge*, and Arthur Liang§
, Jesse Greenblatt†, Bela T. Matyas‡, Donald J. Sharp§, Emilio Esteban¶, Knachelle Hodge*, and Arthur Liang§Table 2
Barriers to investigating foodborne disease in state and territorial health departments
| Question | n | % yes | % no | % not sure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Of the outbreaks that are not investigated, which factors most limit your ability to investigate? (list all that apply) | 48 | |||
| Delayed notification | 83 | |||
| Limited staff | 67 | |||
| Lack of apparent importance | 46 | |||
| Laboratory capacity | 21 | |||
| Jurisdictional issues | 19 | |||
| Political consideration | 13 | |||
| Expertise | 13 | |||
| Other | 13 | |||
| Travel policy constraints | 11 | |||
| Statistical support | 8 | |||
| Ability to pay overtime |
8 |
|||
| In outbreaks in which food specimens were not submitted, what were the barriers to laboratory testing? | 47 | |||
| Leftovers not available | 98 | |||
| Wrong food collected | 32 | |||
| Unnecessary | 17 | |||
| Other | 13 | |||
| No capability for food testing, i.e., laboratory equipment | 11 | |||
| Insufficient expertise at laboratory | 6 | |||
| Too expensive |
4 |
|||
| Do you feel there are barriers for conducting more active case surveillance? | 48 | 88 | 8 | 4 |
| If yes, which of the following reasons apply: (list all that apply) | 42 | |||
| Lack of staff | 81 | |||
| Too time-consuming | 60 | |||
| Other | 33 | |||
| Low priority | 29 | |||
| Lack of expertise | 12 |
