For much of the United States, 2014 began with extreme cold and large snowstorms. As a result, surveillance practitioners around the country have been working to identify, gather, and analyze cold weather-related data. This presentation will focus on data analysis and use for winter weather surveillance in both Indianapolis and Boston.
Marcus Rennick from the Marion County Health Department (Indiana) will discuss how emergency department data gathered through local syndromic surveillance, including BioSense 2.0, can be used to examine typical cold-related syndromes, including falls and hypothermia. He will also briefly discuss the effects on number of visits to area hospitals.
Kathryn Kinzel will discuss winter weather syndromes that the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) uses and their associated findings. Finally, Stacey Kokaram will add the perspective of BPHC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness about the way winter weather surveillance is used to support emergency preparedness efforts. She will identify not only how data can be applied to inform preparedness activities, but also the effects on the community at large, including health care entities.
Presenters
Marcus Rennick, MPH, Epidemiologist, Marion County Public Health Department
Kathryn Kinzel, MPH, Epidemiologist, Boston Public Health Commission
Stacey Kokaram, MPH, Associate Director, Office of Public Health Preparedness, Boston Public Health Commission
Learning Objectives
By the end of the webinar, the audience will be able to:
-
Identify key data used in winter weather surveillance (e.g., from BioSense 2.0);
-
Describe commonalities in winter weather syndrome definitions;
-
Discuss effects of winter weather on the community at large; and
-
Describe the application of winter weather surveillance data to inform preparedness activities.
Date and Time
Friday, February 21, 2014, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST (18:00 - 19:00 GMT)
Hosts
ISDS and the BioSense Redesign Team (more information about this webinar series)