Using the Italian Surveillance System (PASSI) as a Model to Track Health Conditions and Risk Behaviors in Corsica

In Europe, chronic diseases are also responsible for the majority of deaths, and the most important risk factors for chronic diseases (obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes, hypertension, tobacco use, alcohol use) are few and largely preventable (2). To assess the impact of health promotion and disease prevention programs and to identify subgroups at greatest risk, the World Health Organization’s 2002 report (3) recommended implementing risk factor surveillance. In the United States, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) was established in the early 1980s to monitor the prevalence of health risk behaviors. In the last 20 years, several other countries have established similar surveillance systems. According to Bauman et al (4), key components influencing the successful establishment of such systems are the contributions of regional and local health staff in highlighting the value of locally relevant health risk behavior data, in garnering local resources and support, and in adapting data collection to local conditions. Other factors that characterize successful systems include flexibility and potential for adaptation, thereby balancing the need to collect comparable data across geographic areas against the unique needs of local areas.