ABSTRACT
Antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) play a crucial role in controlling the emergence of resistant organisms, reducing rates of Clostridium difficile infections and associated hospital length of stay, promoting judicious use of antibiotics, and minimizing associated adverse events. There is a significant overlap between the goals of infection control programs and ASPs, and both programs can benefit from a synergistic relationship. Hospital epidemiologists can support these programs by providing leadership support, sharing surveillance data, bridging gaps between ASPs and departments such as microbiology, integrating educational programs with ASPs, sharing outbreak alerts, and assisting with the development of treatment algorithms.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Antimicrobial Stewardship/organization & administration , Drug Resistance, Bacterial/drug effects , Epidemiology/organization & administration , Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Anti-Infective Agents/pharmacology , Anti-Infective Agents/therapeutic use , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./organization & administration , Drug Resistance, Microbial/drug effects , Humans , Inservice Training , Leadership , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Patient Safety , Personnel, Hospital/education , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Public Health Surveillance , Quality of Health Care/organization & administration , United StatesABSTRACT
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a complex public health problem, characterized by a high prevalence of chronic infection, an increasing burden of HCV-associated disease, low rates of testing and treatment, and the prospect of increasing incidence associated with the epidemic of injection drug use. Three-quarters of chronic HCV infections occur among persons born from 1945 through 1965. Prevention efforts are complicated by limited knowledge among health care professionals, persons at risk and in the public at large. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, efforts to improve primary and secondary prevention effectiveness center on policy development, education and training initiatives, and applied research. This report provides a brief overview of some of these efforts, including the development of testing recommendations for the 1945-1965 birth cohort, research and evaluation studies in settings where persons who inject drugs receive services, and a national viral hepatitis education campaign that targets health care professionals, the public, and persons at risk.
Subject(s)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./standards , Hepacivirus/pathogenicity , Hepatitis C/prevention & control , Preventive Health Services/standards , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./organization & administration , Health Personnel/standards , Health Planning Guidelines , Hepatitis C/blood , Hepatitis C/epidemiology , Hepatitis C/virology , Humans , National Health Programs/organization & administration , National Health Programs/standards , Prevalence , Preventive Health Services/organization & administration , Risk Factors , Substance Abuse, Intravenous/prevention & control , Substance Abuse, Intravenous/virology , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The articles in this monograph illustrate the progress and successes of comprehensive cancer control (CCC) since our 2005 publication. The strides made in CCC demonstrate the energy and commitment of this nationwide movement to reduce the burden of cancer for all people. The purpose of this conclusion paper is to discuss the future of CCC, which promises a new emphasis on policy, primary prevention, public health, evidence-based interventions, and global health supported by advanced communication tools.
Subject(s)
Comprehensive Health Care/trends , Delivery of Health Care/trends , Neoplasms/prevention & control , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./legislation & jurisprudence , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./organization & administration , Communications Media , Comprehensive Health Care/legislation & jurisprudence , Delivery of Health Care/legislation & jurisprudence , Evidence-Based Practice/legislation & jurisprudence , Evidence-Based Practice/methods , Evidence-Based Practice/trends , Health Care Reform , Health Plan Implementation/legislation & jurisprudence , Health Plan Implementation/organization & administration , Health Plan Implementation/trends , Healthcare Disparities/trends , Humans , Primary Prevention/legislation & jurisprudence , Primary Prevention/organization & administration , Primary Prevention/trends , United StatesABSTRACT
Choropleth maps are commonly used in cancer reports and community discussions about cancer rates. Cancer registries increasingly use geographic information system techniques. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control convened a Map Work Group to help guide application of geographic information systems mapping techniques and to promote choropleth mapping of data from central cancer registries supported by the National Program of Cancer Registries, especially for planning and evaluation of comprehensive cancer control programs. In this 2-part series in this issue of Preventing Chronic Disease, we answer frequently asked questions about choropleth map design to display cancer incidence data. We recommend that future initiatives consider more advanced mapping, spatial analysis, and spatial statistics techniques, and include usability testing with representatives of state and local programs and other cancer prevention partners.
Subject(s)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./organization & administration , Neoplasms/epidemiology , Registries/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Incidence , Population Surveillance , United StatesABSTRACT
Choropleth maps are commonly used in cancer reports and community discussions about cancer rates. Cancer registries increasingly use geographic information system techniques. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control convened a Map Work Group to help guide application of geographic information system mapping techniques and to promote choropleth mapping of data from central cancer registries supported by the National Program of Cancer Registries, especially for comprehensive cancer control planning and evaluation purposes. In this 2-part series, we answer frequently asked questions about choropleth map design to display cancer incidence data. We recommend that future initiatives consider more advanced mapping, spatial analysis, and spatial statistics techniques and include usability testing with representatives of state and local programs and other cancer prevention partners.
Subject(s)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./organization & administration , Neoplasms/epidemiology , Registries/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Incidence , Population Surveillance , United StatesSubject(s)
National Health Programs/organization & administration , Neoplasms/prevention & control , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./organization & administration , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Indians, North American , National Health Programs/history , Neoplasms/epidemiology , Population Surveillance , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
This article discusses current stockpile practices after exploring a history of the use of biologic agents as weapons, the preventive measures that the federal government has used in the past, and the establishment of a Strategic National Stockpile Program in 2003. The article also describes the additional medical supplies from the managed inventory and the federal medical stations. The issues (financial burden, personnel, and materiel selection) for local asset development are also discussed. Critical is the cost to local communities of the development and maintenance of a therapeutic agent stockpile and the need for personnel to staff clinics and medical stations. Finally, the important role of the dental profession for dispensing medication and providing mass immunization in the event of a disaster is described.
Subject(s)
Civil Defense , Disaster Planning , Drugs, Essential/supply & distribution , Biological Warfare , Bioterrorism , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./organization & administration , Civil Defense/economics , Civil Defense/organization & administration , Dentists , Disaster Planning/economics , Disaster Planning/organization & administration , Drugs, Essential/economics , Humans , Legislation, Drug , National Health Programs/economics , National Health Programs/organization & administration , Professional Role , Regional Medical Programs/economics , Regional Medical Programs/organization & administration , United States , United States Government Agencies/economics , United States Government Agencies/organization & administrationSubject(s)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./history , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S./organization & administration , Communicable Disease Control/methods , Communicable Disease Control/organization & administration , Disease Outbreaks/prevention & control , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , National Health Programs/history , National Health Programs/organization & administration , United StatesABSTRACT
Surveillance of health care-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance is an important aspect of prevention. In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had 3 national health care surveillance systems. During 2004-2005, these will be combined into a single Internet-based system, the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). The NHSN will feature a number of enhancements, and ultimately, all US hospitals and other health care facilities will be encouraged to participate. Health care surveillance using standard methods has been very useful and is cited as a model for prevention. However, alternative approaches may improve health care surveillance by reducing complexity, decreasing the burden of data collection, and improving accuracy. These alternative approaches include adopting simpler methods and more-objective definitions, using sampling and estimation, substituting information in computer databases for manually collected data, and increasing surveillance for process measures with known prevention efficacy. Maintaining successful features of standard systems, adopting alternate surveillance approaches, and exploiting new technologies, such as the Internet, will make health care surveillance an even better tool for prevention.