New Biomedical Informatics Summer Online Courses Offered by the University of Utah

Advances in Geospatial Technologies for Health: Abstracts Due 4/30

Another friendly reminder from our colleagues from the ISPRS Working Group 2 (Health) about the abstract submission deadline for the Advances in Geospatial Technologies for Health symposium:

Advances in Geospatial Technologies for Health

11-14 September 2011 Santa Fe, NM USA

ISPRS Working Group 2 (Health) is proud to announce its symposium on Advances in Geospatial Technologies for Health. This 2-day event focuses on applications of geospatial technologies for human health and well-being to integrate environment with health sciences. The venue is the La Fonda Hotel located at the historic plaza in Santa Fe, NM USA.

The Mission of ISPRS Commission VIII, Working Group 2 (Health) focuses on applications of remote sensing and other Earth observing technologies to understand how the natural environment contributes to environmental (asthma, cholera, meningitis, malaria, yellow fever) and infectious/zoonotic (AIDS, TB, influenza, gastroenteritis, plague) diseases. One of the areas of interest is identifying Earth observing data that are used to improve models and to enhance surveillance systems, decision support tools, and early warning systems. The working group aims to reach out to colleagues not only in the scientific community, but also in the health and well-being communities of practice to begin a dialog and share information between these two communities. This mission is supported by the working group's terms of reference and a variety of ISPRS and other related venues and opportunities.

Accepting Abstracts for Presentations (DEADLINE: 30 April 2011)
 
The Symposium will be held in Santa Fe, NM USA from 11 September - 14 September 2011. The organizers cordially invite you to submit an abstract for oral or poster presentations in the following topic areas:

1. New Geospatial Technologies for Health
2.  Advances in Environmental Monitoring
3.  Health Science Applications
4.  Data Integration and Modeling
5.  Real-time and Early Warning Systems
6.  Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases
7.  International Monitoring Programs
8.  On and Just Beyond the Horizon

Abstracts (in English) of 250 words or less should be submitted via email no later than 30 April 2011. Notification of acceptance will be made by 31 May 2011.

EMAIL ABSTRACT TO: wg2abstracts@edac.unm.edu

Register for the Public Health Practice Webinar for Updates on Meaningful Use and the Distribute ILI-S Project

On Monday, April 25th, from 12:30-1:30 pm EST, the ISDS Public Health Practice Committee will be hosting its regularly scheduled meeting.

Topics of discussion will include:

• An update on the Meaningful Use discussion held at the Distribute Community of Practice Meeting in Atlanta -- Michael Coletta
• A presentation by Don Olson on the Distribute ILI-S Pilot Project:
• "Towards adopting a common influenza-like illness (ILI) syndrome across multiple public health jurisdictions." There are no national standards for classifying emergency department (ED) chief complaint data into syndromes for public health surveillance. Local syndrome definitions allow for regional idiom and coding variations and are often tailored to meet specific public health surveillance needs, making comparisons of trends across regions challenging. The ISDS Distribute Project engages partners from state and local health departments to share de-identified ED data at the aggregate, rather than individual, level. Distribute conducted a pilot study to assess interest, capability, and usefulness of implementing common syndrome concepts and coding across multiple Distribute sites. Six sites provided 4 years of data using a common syndrome definition comprising 3 sub-syndrome components defined by a formal code set -- fever/cough, fever/sore-throat, and flu. The distribution of ILI standardized component sub‑syndromes varied among sites, adding more detail to geographic differences. Adoption of a common syndrome across jurisdictions represents a potential advance in syndromic surveillance practice.

Register for the webinar

Public Health Informatics 2011 Conference: Abstract Submission Deadline Extended

The abstract submission deadline for the Public Health Informatics 2011 Conference has been extended to April 25, 2011.  This conference is being presented by the Public Health Informatics and Technology Program Office (PHITPO) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Abstract submission is a competitive process, that encourages both cross-sector and cross-jurisdictional abstract submittals -- including those that show linkage to the clinical and/or emergency response sectors.

2010 Conference Abstracts Now Available Online

The abstracts from the 9th Annual ISDS Conference in Park City, Utah, are now available online!

In 2010, ISDS partnered with the Emerging Health Threats Journal to publish the proceedings in special supplementary issue.  Emerging Health Threats is an online, open-access, international peer-reviewed journal that covers a broad range of emerging threats to human health.

Abstracts can be browsed according to track; each track has a PDF batch of abstracts with authors listed in alphabetical order.  To view the track listings, click the Table of Contents link in the right-hand sidebar.

Finally, be sure not to miss the editorial by Atar Baer, Don Olson and John Brownstein!

Save the Date for the 10th Annual Conference!

Copyright 2011, Kevin C. Rose/Atlantaphotos.com

Building the Future of Public Health Surveillance

Pre-Conference Workshop:  December 6th, 2011

Conference:  December 7th & 8th, 2011

Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, 165 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, GA

The ISDS proudly celebrates its tenth annual conference dedicated to the advancement of the technology, research, and practice of public health surveillance.  This unique gathering brings together a community of researchers and practitioners focused on monitoring, understanding, and improving population health.  The conference presents scientific work at the juncture of innovative analytical techniques, progressive public health practice, and cutting edge informatics to support a timely, accurate, and informed response to emerging outbreaks of disease and other health threats.  Come help us evaluate where we have been, explore where we are, an envision what can be as we work together to build the future of public health surveillance.

Regular updates will be posted at:

http://www.syndromic.org/annual-conference/2011

Questions?  Contact ISDS.

What's the 411 on 911? BioSense Redesign Connects with First Responders & Emergency Preparedness Professionals at PHPS

Here is another announcement from our colleagues at BioSense regarding the recent Public Health Preparedness Summit (PHPS):

The BioSense Redesign project staff made their rounds at the recent Public Health Preparedness Summit (PHPS) in Atlanta; we conducted a variety of pre and post conference information gathering activities to gain a better understanding of data and communication needs during critical events and emergencies.  Addressing the needs of public health for emergency preparation and response are critical to the redesign of the BioSense Program and the information gathering activities at PHPS represents a key opportunity to engage users in the development process. 

Our pre-conference workshop featured insightful presentations from the BioSense Program Director, Taha Kass-Hout, and Julia Gunn of the Boston Public Health Commission and the ISDS Board of Directors, along with concurrent roundtable sessions.  Participants described their interactions with various technologies and communication platforms and their preferences for each during the session.  Roundtable activities also included a task analysis to examine data and communication needs of local public health practitioners during a flood and pandemic influenza.  On day two, a similar exercise conducted during an interactive session gathered additional feedback on the spectrum of public health concerns and challenges posed by these two kinds of critical threats.  Key topics discussed included resource, supply, and equipment management; communication needs; critical data and information considerations; and the diversity of roles and responsibilities needed to maximize partner and stakeholder response.  

If you missed BioSense at PHPS, please take a moment to visit the BioSense Redesign Collaboration Website and check out their Community Forum; view the Requirements Gathering Work Center or edit the Coverage Map.  Questions and comments are welcomed!

Data Types Pre & Post Disaster: What Can We Learn From Japan? Join the Conversation on the BioSense Redesign Collaboration Website

Our colleagues from BioSense have asked us to share this message regarding their newest posting on the BioSense Redesign Collaboration website:

Dear BioSense Redesign Stakeholder,

Our eighth post for the Public Health Situation Awareness topic has launched!  In light of the recent earthquake, tsunami, and radiological emergencies in Japan, these new questions* explore data types and whether additional data types would be useful pre- and post-disaster.  The CDC will use your feedback to better understand the spectrum of data types neccessary during an event and also routine monitoring and surveillance.  Your feedback is valuable to the redesign of the BioSense system and program.  

View the questions, or contribute to a previous post.

Thank you,

The BioSense Redesign Team

*New questions are posted for comment on a weekly to biweekly basis.  Check back often for updates and summaries of feedback posted by stakeholders. 

Advances in Geospatial Technologies for Health: Accepting Abstracts for Presentations

The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) Working Group 2 (Health) will be hosting a symposium on Advances in Geospatial Technologies for Health in Santa Fe, NM, from September 11-14, 2011. 

This two day even focuses on applications of geospatial technologies for human health and well being to integrate environment with health sciences. Abstract submission for presentation is open until April 30, 2011. 

The Mission of ISPRS Commission VIII, Working Group 2 (Health) focuses on applications of remote sensing and other Earth observing technologies to understand how the natural environment contributes to environmental (asthma, cholera, meningitis, malaria, yellow fever) and infectious/zoonotic (AIDS, TB, influenza, gastroenteritis, plague) diseases.  One of the areas of interest is identifying Earth observing data that are used to improve models and to enhance surveillance systems, decision support tools, and early warning systems.  The working group aims to reach out to colleagues not only in the scientific community, but also in the health and well-being communities of practice to begin a dialog and share information between these two communities.  This mission is supported by the working group's terms of reference and a variety of ISPRS and other related venues and opportunities.


The organizers cordially invite you to submit an abstract for oral or poster presentations in the following topic areas:

1. New Geospatial Technologies for Health
2. Advances in Environmental Monitoring
3. Health Sciences Applications
4. Data Integration and Modeling
5. Real-time and Early Warning Systems
6. Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases
7. International Monitoring Programs
8. On and Just Beyond the Horizon

Abstracts (in English) of 250 words or less should be submitted via email no later than April 30, 2011.  Notification of acceptance will be made by May 31, 2011.