NSSP Update – March 2021
A Technical Newsletter for the NSSP Community of Practice | March 2021
The National Syndromic Surveillance Program issues NSSP Update monthly to share the latest Community of Practice activities, technical and program updates, and ways in which syndromic surveillance is improving public health.
TECHNICAL UPDATES
Rodgers Named NSSP Lead, Sets Vision for 2021
We’re proud to announce that CAPT Loren Rodgers has been appointed NSSP Lead. Rodgers has laid out a vision for NSSP, based on lessons learned during the pandemic, and is committed to collaborating with the community of practice to realize NSSP’s full potential as a flagship system for public health preparedness.
COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
Community Highlights ▪ New Content Added to Knowledge Repository ▪ Ways to Engage
Here’s how your NSSP Community of Practice is advancing syndromic surveillance.
CSTE Conference: Building Bridges to Health
The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) will hold its annual conference virtually! Join live discussions, workshops, plenaries, and more.
Visit CSTE’s website to learn more and register.
Study Demonstrates Value of Using Syndromic Data to Monitor Trends in Sexual Violence
Syndromic data can capture victimization experiences. A recent article in the American Journal of Public Health describes the implications of using syndromic surveillance to monitor emergency department visits for sexual violence. Read more.
Study Shows Shift in Use of Emergency Departments Before and During the Pandemic
Should emergency departments provide more screening and prevention services during a public health crisis? This article in JAMA Psychiatry shows the increase in visit rates for mental health conditions, substance use, and violence. Read more.
Developing Syndrome Definitions
A new syndrome definition has been added to ESSENCE: CDC Benzodiazepine Overdose v1. A fact sheet will be added to the NSSP Community of Practice Knowledge Repository.
TECHNICAL UPDATES
NSSP Updates Queries to Include New ICD Codes
To identify conditions resulting from COVID-19, NSSP has updated several syndrome definitions to capture codes added to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification. Read more.
CDC Enhances COVID Data Tracker
The COVID Data Tracker combines information from the COVID-19 response in one location. A new landing page groups information by category. View dashboards that track cases, vaccines administered, deaths, trends in emergency department visits, and more. The Weekly Review summarizes updates in plain language.
| March 10 | Race and Ethnicity Data Quality Improvement Workgroup; 3:00–4:00 PM ET |
| March 12 | Data Quality Subcommittee Call (Monthly); 12:00–1:00 PM ET |
| March 16 | NSSP Vendor Patches in Testing and Development Environments; 12:00–8:00 AM ET |
| March 16 | NSSP Community of Practice Call (Monthly); 3:00–4:30 PM ET |
| March 18 | NSSP Vendor Patches in Onboarding and Production Environments; 12:00–8:00 AM ET |
| March 23 | Data Sharing Workgroup Call (Monthly); 3:00–4:00 PM ET |
| April 2 | Syndromic Surveillance and Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Subcommittee Call (Monthly); 2:00–2:45 PM ET |
| April 7 | Syndrome Definition Subcommittee Call (Monthly); 1:00–2:00 PM ET |
| April 9 | Data Quality Subcommittee Call (Monthly); 12:00–1:00 PM ET |
| April 12 | NSSP Community of Practice Core Committee Call (Monthly); 3:00–4:30 PM ET |
| April 14 | Race and Ethnicity Data Quality Improvement Workgroup; 3:00–4:00 PM ET |
| April 20 | NSSP Community of Practice Call (Monthly); 3:00–4:30 PM ET |
| June 13–17 | Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) 2021 Annual Conference: Building Bridges to Health. Read about the virtual conference. Register here. |
View more calendar details at the NSSP Community of Practice.
