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Congenital anomalies, or birth defects, are physicial differences that occur during infant development before birth. In most instances, anomalies are not detected until birth or shortly thereafter. Congenital anomalies are the leading cause of infant deaths in Saskatoon Health Region and Saskatchewan but until the development of CASS, there was no formal system for reporting of congenital anomalies in the province.
As a result of public health concern, the Public Health Agency of Canada made funding available to all provinces and territories for improved congenital anomaly surveillance.
Congenital Anomalies Surveillance – Saskatchewan (CASS) was established in 2010 - 2012 with data collection beginning in spring 2012.
CASS has been created as a pilot project in the Saskatoon Health Region with the intent of future expansion across all Saskatchewan Health Regions. Implementing a surveillance system that can assist in the identification of causes and intervene in the modifiable risk factors at a population level, can benefit the children and families of Saskatchewan.
CASS collects information about the number and types of congenital anomalies in Saskatoon Health Region in order to:
•Provide accurate baseline data on the incidence of congenital anomalies, the leading cause of infant death in Saskatoon Health Region and Saskatchewan
•Track temporal and regional trends in congenital anomalies for public health resource utilization and allocation, prevention strategies, program planning, monitoring, evaluation and service planning
•Investigate significant changes in the frequency of congenital anomalies to identify environmental and therefore, possible preventable causes
•Provide information to health care professionals about congenital anomalies in Saskatoon Health Region
See the following pages for more information:
Staff
Krista Kaminski, MPH
Dr. Edmond Lemire, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FCCMG, FACMG
Committee Terms of Reference
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