Table 1 Details of each outcome measure and data source
Data source | Population | Outcome | Denominator/offset | Age in months (m) or years (y) | Time period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust | RVGE hospitalisations. Alder Hey's footprint covers the majority of Merseyside children | Laboratory-confirmed rotavirus gastroenteritis. Rotavirus antigen detected by immunochromatography test (2005–2009) or by enzyme immunoassay (2002–2005 and 2009 onwards) in a faecal specimen of a child with acute gastroenteritis | Total hospitalisations per month by age group | 0–14 y: < 12 m; 12–23 m; 24–59 m; 5–14 y | July 2002 to June 2016 |
Hospital Episode Statistics – admitted patient care | Merseyside residents attending any hospital in England | Hospitalisation for all-cause acute gastroenteritis. Identified by ICD-10 codes: A00–A09) or as non-infectious gastroenteritis (K52.9), in any diagnosis field | Yearly estimated age-specific population of Merseyside. Source: Office for National Statistics; accessed through Public Health England [16] | All ages: < 12 m; 12–23 m; 24–59 m; 5–14 y; 15–64 y; 65+ | July 2000 to June 2016 |
Hospital Episode Statistics – accident and emergency | Merseyside residents attending three major emergency departments in Merseyside | Emergency department attendance for gastrointestinal conditions (AE diagnosis code 26); excluding subsequent admissions. Missing diagnosis data was imputed for one emergency department between November 2010 and March 2011 | Total emergency department attendances (excluding subsequent admissions) per month by age group | All ages: < 12 m; 12–23 m; 24–59 m; 5–14 y; 15–64 y; 65+ | July 2008 to June 2016 |
Walk-in centre attendance records | Attendances at walk-in centres in Wirral, covering an estimated resident population of 320,000 | Walk-in centre attendance for infectious gastroenteritis. Read Codes: gastroenteritis – presumed infectious origin (A0812), diarrhoea of presumed infectious origin (A083); infantile viral gastroenteritis (A07y1); infectious gastroenteritis (A0803); enteritis due to rotavirus (A0762); and infectious diarrhoea (A082) | All walk-in centre attendances per month by age group | All ages: < 12 m; 12–23 m; 24–59 m; 5–14 y; 15–64 y; 65+ | July 2011 to June 2016 |
GP records | Consultations at 136 GP practices in Merseyside, covering an estimated population of 790,000 | Consultations for infectious gastroenteritis (Read Codes as above for walk-in centre) | Yearly estimated GP registered population by age group. Data were available from 2010 to 2016, therefore estimates for 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 were synthetically estimated using predictions from linear regression models. Source: Public Health England and participating GP practices | All ages: < 12 m; 12–23 m; 24–59 m; 5–14 y; 15–64 y; 65+ | July 2007 to June 2016 |