Register for the CSTE BRFSS Small Area Estimation Webinar!

CSTE will be hosting a BRFSS small areas estimation webinar on Thursday, July 16th at 1pm ET. This training will be focused on the concept of small area estimation, its uses and limitations, and will illustrate how survey data are used to produce estimates for areas that do not have a sufficient sample size for direct estimation. Please refer to the attached one pager for a full summary of the webinar.

Please use the link below to register for this webinar. To maximize the number of attendees, we encourage those of you in one office to have one person register and share the viewing space with other colleagues.

Topic: CSTE BRFSS Small Area Estimation Webinar
Host: Nidal Kram
Date: Thursday, July 16, 2015
Time: 1:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)
Session number: Not Available
Registration password: This session does not require a registration password.

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To register for this session
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Go to https://cste.webex.com/cste/k2/j.php?MTID=t89168b19a3a9cd11fcfebb18a24d649a and register.

Once the host approves your registration, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the session.

Mumps & Pertussis MMGs - Comments due May 22

CDC has announced a second external review for the mumps and pertussis message mapping guides (MMG), which opened today, Wednesday, April 29 and will close Friday, May 22. The draft MMGs and related documents (e.g., revised PHIN Case Notification Message Structure Specification Release 3.0) are available on the NNDSS Draft Message Mapping Guides website for jurisdictions to review. *Please send feedback to edx@cdc.gov with the following subject lines: “Mumps MMG Feedback”, “Pertussis MMG Feedback”, or “Mumps and Pertussis MMG Feedback”.

Background

The first external review for these MMGs took place from April 14, 2014 to May 26, 2014. The feedback CDC’s response to that feedback was summarized and distributed to CSTE’s Surveillance Implementation and Practice Subcommittee on July 24, 2014.

What’s New in this Review?

The following changes were made to the MMGs since the first external review period:

·         Data elements that have been added since the previous review at the request of the program are highlighted in yellow in the excel spreadsheets posted online for this review. Data elements that have been added since the previous review as part of restructuring efforts or the lab and vaccine templates (not at the request of the program) are highlighted in green in the excel spreadsheets posted online for this review.

·         The MMGs have been restructured in accordance with recommendations from an Internal MMG Restructuring Workgroup. A detailed summary of the recommendations of the workgroup are posted on the draft MMG website, in the document titled “Case Notification Message Restructuring: A Summary of Structural and Content Changes”. The PHIN Case Notification Message Structure Specification has also been updated to reflect changes and is posted on the draft MMG website. In summary:

o   Data elements in the Epidemiologic section are sent as question/answer pairs, as specified in the PHIN case notification message specification

o   The Laboratory and Vaccine Template sections support the inclusion of laboratory and vaccination findings in the case notification and are consistent with templates that were developed by the MMG Restructuring Workgroup. The summary of the data elements in the vaccine and laboratory templates are listed within the “Case Notification Message Restructuring: A Summary of Structural and Content Changes” document on the draft MMG website.

o   As a result of opening the HL7 structure in the PHIN message specification (PHIN Message Structure Specification Release 3.0), elements in the Laboratory Template section can be transmitted in a manner that is similar to the ELR HL7 specification. This is noted in the columns labeled “HL7 Message Context”, “HL7 Data Type”, “HL7 Usage”, “HL7 Cardinality”, and “HL7 Implementation Notes.”

·         Implementation notes were updated with information on how unknown and missing values for date and numeric fields should be sent.

·         Question-specific identifiers (PHIN Unique Identifiers) were replaced with standard identifiers for the question concept (e.g., LOINC)

·         HL7 implementation notes provide information on mapping data elements to specific HL7 segment field locations.

Specific Feedback Requested from the MMG Review:

1.       Comments on:

a.       Whether the new data elements (highlighted in yellow or green) are information that you are likely to be able to obtain.

b.      Collection and transmission of the data elements to CDC and completeness of the valid values.

c.       Whether the implementation notes are clear or need clarification.

d.      Changes in the structure and format of the message.

2.       Please provide feedback on data element VAC102 (vaccination record ID). Is this generated from the sender’s vaccine record system?

CSTE Focus Group Pilot Needs Participants

CSTE is leading a scientific writing capacity assessment and is looking for epidemiologists to participate in the pilot focus groups.  The assessment objective is to assess current themes and issues that epidemiologists experience in state and local health departments surrounding formal publishing.  The pilot data collection will occur between March 10-21, 2014.

CSTE invites you to participate in the pilot focus group if:

• You are an epidemiologist (do not have to be a CSTE member);

• You work at a state or local health department;

• You can commit to participate in the 1.5 hour focus group session.

If you meet the above criteria and are interested in participating in the pilot focus group, please email Jessica Pittman at JPittman@cste.org no later than Friday, March 7th, 2014.

CSTE Webinar on the ACA and Health Care Integration: February 12th, 1 pm ET

On Wednesday, February 12, 2014 from 1-2pm EST, CSTE will be hosting a webinar entitled Notes from the Field: Oregon’s and Illinois’ Experiences with Public Health and Health Care Integration.  This webinar will characterize the role of the epidemiologist in a post-ACA environment.

After this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the role of the epidemiologist in a post-ACA environment.
2. Describe the importance of metrics for successful public health and primary care integration efforts.

The webinar will be presented by Katrina Hedberg, State Epidemiologist in Oregon, and Craig Conover, State Epidemiologist in Illinois.

Topic: Feb. Primary Care Integration Call 

Host: Jessica Pittman 

Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 

Time: 1:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT-05:00) 

Session number: 792 743 127 

Session password: epi1234 

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To join the session 

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1. Go to https://cste.webex.com/cste/k2/j.php?MTID=tef337c6156deb092061e945b8a522ff8 

2. Enter your name and email address (or registration ID). 

3. Enter the session password: epi1234 

4. Click "Join Now". 

5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

2013 CSTE Annual Conference - Late Breaker Abstracts

On behalf of CSTE, ISDS encourages its members and community to consider submitting late-breaker abstracts to the 2013 CSTE Annual Conference by Friday, April 19th. Information about the late-breaker abstract session and the CSTE Annual Conference can be found here in the below message and on the 2013 CSTE Annual Conference website: http://www.csteconference.org. 

CSTE is now accepting late-breaker abstracts for the 2013 CSTE Annual Conference in Pasadena, California.  Abstracts must be received no later than Friday, April 19 by 11:59 PM EDT through the online CSTE abstract submission site at http://9nl.it/LateBreakers/. 

The late-breaker session will be on Wednesday, June 13 at 10:30 am.  Abstracts for this session are highly competitive, as only abstracts containing truly late-breaking research or outbreak or event responses will be considered.  Proposals that are incomplete, late, or submitted in an inappropriate format will not be considered. 

Guidelines for late-breaker abstract submission are available on the CSTE website at http://www.csteconference.org/AC13AbsratctGuidesFINAL2.pdf.

Please contact the CSTE National Office at (770) 458-3811 with any questions related to the abstract submission process.

Request for Proposals: Pilot Project for Public Health Case Reporting Using C-CDA

National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO)  along with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) announce a funding opportunity for state and local health departments to participate in a pilot project for the implementation of public health case reporting from electronic health records (EHR) to public health agencies using Consolidated Clinical Data Architecture (C-CDA).

CDC and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Standards and Interoperability (S&I) Framework, Public Health Reporting Initiative (PHRI) are working to reduce the reporting burden on healthcare providers and public health agencies by harmonizing data elements across public health domains and developing a standardized data structure through the implementation of C-CDA. The PHRI has produced two work products: a set of harmonized data elements and a C-CDA library of templates for several public health conditions, which will be tested and demonstrated at pilot site(s). This pilot will help determine if and how the PHRI products can serve as resources to facilitate implementation of public health case reporting from clinical providers to public health agencies.  

If interested, please submit an application to Monica Huang mhuang@cste.org at the CSTE National Office by Friday, March 15, 2013.

Please click here for additional background information and instructions (pdf) »

Upcoming CSTE Webinar - IHR in the U.S. - 2/5/13

CSTE Webinar: The International Health Regulations

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET

Description:
CSTE will be holding a webinar on the International Health Regulations (IHR) on Tuesday, February 5, at 2 pm ET in follow-up to a 2012 assessment on state experiences with the IHR. This webinar is intended to raise awareness about the purpose and functions of the IHR in the U.S. and will focus on the assessment and reporting of potential Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC). Presenters will summarize key findings from the assessment on state awareness and implementation of the IHR, provide an overview of the IHR, and describe a specific event that was notified to WHO as a potential PHEIC.

Presenters:
Dr. Stephen Ostroff, MD
Formerly of Pennsylvania Department of Health

Katrin S. Kohl, MD, PhD, MPH/DTM
Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC

Aaron T. Fleischauer, PhD, MSPH
CDC Career Epidemiology Field Officer, North Carolina Division of Public Health

To participate in this webinar, you must REGISTER HERE by Monday, February 4.

After registration, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the session. Please check the WebEx system requirements before the webinar and contact WebEx Support for technical troubleshooting.

Background on IHR:
The International Health Regulations (IHR) are a binding agreement accepted by all Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO), including the U.S. The IHR are intended to enable early detection and rapid notification of potential Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) to allow for a globally-harmonized response to minimize the spread of disease across international borders. Obligations for IHR implementation lie with the federal government. In the U.S., the reliance of the federal government on state and local public health jurisdictions for the implementation of public health programs and surveillance was acknowledged in a reservation to the IHR. Oversight of the U.S. government-wide implementation of the IHR lies with the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designed a process of assessing health events in the U.S. for potential reporting to WHO under the IHR. Information about events is primarily in the hands of local and state public health partners.