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BioSense

Description

Public health surveillance largely relies on the use of surveillance systems to facilitate the identification and investigation of epidemiologic concerns reflected in data. In order to support public health response, these systems must present relevant information, and be user-friendly, dynamic, and easily-implementable. The abundance of R tools freely-available online for data analysis and visualization presents not only opportunities but also challenges for adoption in that these tools must be integrated so as to allow a structured workflow. Many public health surveillance practitioners do not have the time available to 1) scavenge for tools, 2) align their functions so as to create a relevant set of visuals, and 3) integrate these visuals into a dashboard that allows a streamlined surveillance workflow. An openly-available, structured framework that allows simple integration of analytic capabilities packaged into readily- implementable modules would simplify the creation of relevant dashboard visuals by surveillance practitioners. 

Objective

A framework and toolbox for creating point-and-click dashboard applications (at no cost) for monitoring several facets of syndromic surveillance data were created. These tools (and associated documentation) are being made available freely online for other surveillance practitioners to adopt. 

Submitted by Magou on

The BioSense Platform features a tool giving site administrators control over how their data are shared. Thanks to a workgroup the BioSense Governance Group convened last year, CDC now has a good idea of what data-sharing capabilities users want in this new tool. Michael Coletta and other members of the team will outline the steps being taken to build the BioSense Platform Admin Tool.

Description

In the United States, surveillance of vaccine uptake for childhood infections is limited in scope and spatial resolution. The National Immunization Survey (NIS) - the gold standard tool for monitoring vaccine uptake among children aged 19-35 months - is typically constrained to producing coarse state-level estimates. In recent years, vaccine hesitancy (i.e., a desire to delay or refuse vaccination, despite availability of vaccination services) has resurged in the United States, challenging the maintenance of herd immunity. In December 2014, foreign importation of the measles virus to Disney theme parks in Orange County, California resulted in an outbreak of 111 measles cases, 45% of which were among unvaccinated individuals. Digital health data offer new opportunities to study the social determinants of vaccine hesitancy in the United States and identify finer spatial resolution clusters of under-immunization using data with greater clinical accuracy and rationale for hesitancy.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of large-scale medical claims data for local surveillance of under-immunization for childhood infections in the United States, to develop a statistical framework for integrating disparate data sources on surveillance of vaccination behavior, and to identify the determinants of vaccine hesitancy behavior. 

Submitted by Magou on

This is the technical weekly update report which the project director at the CDC (Mike Coletta) gets from the technical support company (ICF), summarizing the current status of work on the National Syndromic Surveillance (NSS) Platform.

Submitted by ctong on

Join Michael Coletta, CDC Program Manager, for a presentation on the CDC National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP - formerly known as BioSense).  Following a thorough review of the BioSense Program in 2013, CDC initiated the BioSense Enhancement Initiative (BEI) which builds on the past successes, while addressing areas that need improvement, allowing for a national view of syndromic surveillance that will provide many additional public health benefits.

NSSP Onboarding has historically been a very labor intensive and manual process that requires a great deal of guidance and time investment from NSSP Onboarding Team members.  In order to meet future demand, Jurisdictions will play a greater role in managing the onboarding of local facilities.

The objective for the next year is to begin creating resources that jurisdictions can use to help facilities perform self-guided onboarding.

To begin the process, the onboarding team is documenting the onboarding discussions and processes.

From the BioSense 2.0 Onboarding Workgroup meeting, November 5, 2014

Presenter

Laurel Boyd

Acute and Communicable Disease Prevention

Public Health Division

Oregon Health Authority

Submitted by ctong on