02066nas a2200385   4500000000100000008004100001260001700042653001100059653001300070653002000083653002100103653001100124653001200135653002800147653001700175653002600192653001700218653002100235100001600256700001700272700001400289700001300303700001800316700001600334700002000350700001400370700001300384700001700397245011500414856004800529300001000577490000700587520107200594022001401666       1999                            d  c1999 Jan-Mar10aBrazil10aCensuses10aData Collection10aEndemic Diseases10aHumans10aleprosy10aPopulation Surveillance10aRisk Factors10aSocioeconomic Factors10aTuberculosis10aUrban Population1 aXimenes R A1 aMartelli C M1 aSouza W V1 aLapa T M1 aAlbuquerque M1 aAndrade A L1 aMorais Neto O L1 aSilva S A1 aLima M L1 aPortugal J L00a[Surveillance of endemic diseases in urban areas: the interface between census tract maps and morbidity data].  uhttp://www.scielo.br/pdf/csp/v15n1/0035.pdf  a53-610 v153 a<p>In this article we discuss the methodological issues associated with the creation of a surveillance system for endemic diseases in urban areas based on analysis of populations at risk and on spatially referenced epidemiological indicators. We comment on the system's basic requirements, selection criteria for socioeconomic variables, and methodological steps to combine these variables so as to construct a census-based deprivation index. We also present the ways we solved some operational problems related to generation of digitized census tracts maps and linkage of morbidity data from different sources. This approach, spatial organization into account in surveillance of endemic diseases, exemplified here by tuberculosis and leprosy, allows for the interaction of several official data sets from census and health services in order to geographically discriminate inner-city risk strata. Criteria for constructing these risk strata were considered a useful tool for health planning and management activities for the control of endemic diseases in cities.</p>  a0102-311X