Pre-Conference Trainings

An In-Depth Look at Track 4: 

Mapping and Biosurveillance: Using ArcGIS

Date/Time: December 9, 2014 - 8:00am - 4:15pm

Location: Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, PA

Target Audience
The target audience of this training is public health practitioners, graduate students and researchers.

Description
Advances in geographical information systems (GIS) and mapping technologies have created exciting new opportunities for public health professionals to collect, analyze, display, and share multiple types of data and information. Biosurveillance has benefitted greatly from these tolls and continues to be enhanced as more individuals learn the nuances of GIS. ArcGIS, the mapping software developed by ESRI, has become the industry standard and is used in most public health departments in the U.S. This session will provide an introduction and focused examples of how the ArcGIS platform can be used for biosurveillance. Topics covered include: introduction to ArcGIS Online; introduction to Esri Maps for Office and integration of Esri Maps for Office and ArcGIS Online; and introduction to Community Analyst/Business Analyst. There will be a didactic session for each topic, followed by a hands-on session to apply the skills learned. Typical geocoded tabular health data will be provided for the hands-on sessions.

Learn more about the 2014 ISDS Pre-Conference Trainings here.

Highlight on 2014 Pre-Conference Trainings

An In-Depth Look at Track 2: 

Biosurveillance and Policy Issues for Experts

Date/Time: December 9, 2014 - 8:00am - 4:15pm

Location: Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, PA

Target Audience
The target audience of this training is healthcare and public health professionals with experience in biosurveillance practice.

Description
This training will provide experience biosurveillance professionals with a forum for learning about and discussing current topics and policies essential to biosurveillance, as well as an opportunity to collaborate with other experts in the field to develop practical, concrete products and tools. It will include panel discussions on natural disaster surveillance and the OneHealth initiative, as well as a plenary roundtable session on the "Meaningful Use"* of electronic health data. In addition, the track will feature breakout sessions to discuss current policy topics, such as ICD-10, data sharing, animal surveillance, and chronic disease surveillance. Ultimately, this trainings is intended to leverage the collective expertise of the group to advance participants' understanding and practice and to allow for a high-quality and seamless translation of the knowledge gained in the workshop within the participants' organizations. *"Meaningful Use" refers to the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHRs) Incentive Programs, a major component of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act within the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) legislation. 

Learn more about Meaningful Use here.

Learn more about the 2014 ISDS Pre-Conference Trainings here.

2014 Pre-Conference Trainings

An In-Depth Look at Track 1: 

Biosurveillance for Beginners

Date/Time: December 9, 2014 - 8:00am - 4:15pm

Location: Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, PA

Target Audience
The target audience of this trainings is healthcare  and public health professionals new to biosurveillance practice, as well as graduate students ad researchers interested in obtaining a better understanding of biosurveillance.

Description
This training will provide exposure to key topics central to biosurveillance and serve to orient those who are new to the field. the objective of Track 1 is to "bridge the knowledge gap" to enable participants to better understand and apply public health data for informed and meaningful decision-making and to communicate outcomes or results. It includes an overview of biosurveillance, as well as demonstrations of the integration of novel data sources (emergency department chief complaints, emergency medical services, school absenteeism and poison control center calls) with syndromic surveillance systems and their application in daily biosurveillance practice. .Track 1 is being developed based on feedback from participants who attended the 2013 ISDS Pre-Conference Workshops; therefore, it is sure to be a high quality training opportunity relevant to the practical needs of those who are new to biosurveillance.

Learn more about the 2014 ISDS Pre-Conference Trainings here.

2014 Pre-Conference Trainings

An In-Depth Look at Track 3: 

Introduction to R for Biosurveillance

Date/Time: December 9, 2014 - 8:00am - 4:15pm

Location: Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, PA

Target Audience
The target audience of this trainings is healthcare providers, public health practitioners, graduate students and researchers.

Description
The public health workforce (public health practitioners, healthcare providers and academicians in research settings) require data, as well as analysis and visualization of that data, to enable and provide informed decision-making, whether clinically-based or policy based.  Continued budgetary restrictions and funding cuts have somewhat hindered the ability to purchase commercial products and applications; therefore, public health has a strong need for exposure to and training with open-source products and tools for data collection, analysis and visualization. R is a language and environment for statistical computing and graphics (http://www.r-project.org/).  It provides a variety of statistical and graphical techniques and is extensible. As an open-source product, R is freely available, making it optimal for use in a variety of settings. This training is a hands-on introduction to R for epidemiology, biosurveillance, and high-quality data visualizations.

Learn more about the 2014 ISDS Pre-Conference Trainings here.

Participate in the 2014 ISDS Pre-Conference Trainings

Date: December 9, 2014
Location: Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, PA
Registration Information

The ISDS Pre-Conference Trainings are community-generated, professional development trainings designed to address the professional needs of the biosurveillance workforce, and take place in coordination with the annual ISDS conference. This year, the four trainings (overview of each below) will take place on December 9th - the day prior to the two-day 2014 ISDS Conference. 

Track 1: Biosurveillance for Beginners

Description: This training will provide exposure to key topics central to biosurveillance and serve to orient those who are new to the field. The objective of Track 1 is to "bridge the knowledge gap" to enable participants to better understand and apply public health data for informed and meaningful decision-making and to communicate outcomes or results. It includes an overview of biosurveillance, as well as demonstrations of the integration of novel data sources (emergency department chief complaints, emergency medical services, school absenteeism, and poison control center calls) with syndromic surveillance systems and their application in daily biosurveillance practice. Track 1 is being developed based on feedback from participants who attended the 2013 ISDS Pre-Conference Workshops; therefore, it is sure to be a high quality training opportunity relevant to the practical needs of those who are new to biosurveillance. 

Track 2: Biosurveillance and Policy Issues for Experts

Description: This training will provide experienced biosurveillance professionals with a forum for learning about and discussing current topics and policies essential to biosurveillance, as well as an opportunity to collaborate with other experts in the field to develop practical, concrete products and tools. It will include panel discussions on natural disaster surveillance and the OneHealth initiative, as well as a plenary roundtable session on the "Meaningful Use"* of electronic health data. In addition, the track will feature breakout sessions to discuss current policy topics, such as ICD-10, data sharing, animal surveillance, and chronic disease surveillance. Ultimately, this training is intended to leverage the collective expertise of the group to advance participants' understanding and practice and to allow for a high-quality and seamless translation of the knowledge gained in the training within the participants' organizations. *Meaningful USe refers to the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHRs) INcentive Programs, a major component of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act within the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) legislation. LEARN MORE

Track 3: Introduction to R for Biosurveillance

Description: The public health workforce (public health practitioners, healthcare providers, and academicians in research settings) require data, as well as analysis and visualization of that data, to enable and provide informed decision-making, whether clinically-based or policy-based. Continued budgetary restrictions and funding cuts have somewhat hindered the ability to purchase commercial products and applications; therefore, public health has a strong need for exposure to and training with open-source products and tools for data collection, analysis, and visualization. R is a language and environment for statistical computing and graphics (http://www.r-project.org/). It provides a variety of statistical and graphical techniques and is extensible. As an open-source product, R is freely available, making it optimal for use in a variety of settings. This Training is a hands-on introduction to R for epidemiology, biosurveillance, and high-quality data visualizations. 

Track 4: Mapping and Biosurveillance: Using ArcGIS

Description: Advances in geographical information systems (GIS) and mapping technologies have created exciting new opportunities for public health professionals to collect, analyze, display, and share multiple types of data and information. Biosurveillance has benefited greatly from these tools and continues to be enhanced as more individuals lear the nuances of GIS. ArcGIS, the mapping software developed by ESRI, has become the industry standard and is used in most public health departments in the U.S. This session will provide an introduction and focused examples of how the ArcGIS platform can be used for biosurveillance. Topics covered include: introduction to ArcGIS Online; introduction to Esri Maps for Office and integration of Esri Maps for Office and ArcGIS Online; an introduction to Community Analyst/Business Analyst. There will be a didactic session for each topic, followed by a hands-on session to apply the skills learned. Typical geocoded tabular health data will be provided for the hands-on sessions.  

For more information, please visit the webpage.

Now Accepting Applications to Present during the 2014 ISDS Swap Meet - a Part of the 2014 ISDS Conference

Interested in presenting a system demonstration? Or are you an expert on a topic, tool, project, or opportunity of interest to the public health surveillance community? If so, apply to present at the 2014 ISDS Swap Meet! The Swap Meet is a session associated with ISDS's annual conference that provides an exciting opportunity for pre-conference and conference attendees to informally discuss particular topics or systems with system developers, system users, and experts. Past Swap Meet presentations include: ESSENCE, Data Quality Emporium, HealthMap, Applied Public Health Informatics Fellowship, Meaningful Use, among others.

The 2014 Swap Meet is scheduled for December 9th, 4:30 - 6:30pm EST (time subject to change) at the Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, PA, USA. If you are interested in presenting, please complete this form by October 14, 2014 (11:59pm EDT) in order to apply for a table. Unfortunately, space is limited and we may not be able to accept all applications received. We will inform all applicants of the status of their application by October 17, 2014.

We are also currently accepting abstracts for presentation at the 2014 ISDS Conference, learn more here.

*NOTE: Commercial vendors are welcome to apply for a Swap Meet table; however, should your application be accepted, there will be a $200 fee to participate. We encourage commercial vendors to consider exhibiting at the 2014 ISDS Conference, as this provides more exposure and more opportunities to interact with ISDS Conference participants (learn more about sponsor/exhibitor opportunities).