RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: In 2016, Puerto Rico became the focal point of the Zika epidemic, with more than 36 000 laboratory-confirmed cases before August. The Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) responded by providing tests to symptomatic and asymptomatic pregnant women. The increased demand for Zika testing placed unprecedented strain on the laboratory capacity and information management processes used within the PRDH. The PRDH recognized the need to have an updated informatics system that securely manages, stores, and transmits digital data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded the Public Health Informatics Institute to collaborate with the PRDH to assess and improve the informatics capability to respond to the ongoing Zika virus transmission in Puerto Rico. APPROACH: The team employed a 4-component approach to assess the informatics system and improve the information management processes for laboratory testing and reporting of arboviral diseases (Zika, chikungunya, and dengue). The method consisted of a (1) needs assessment, (2) business process analysis and requirements definition, (3) vendor analysis, and (4) solution implementation. RESULTS: The needs assessment determined that the PRDH's procedures for arbovirus testing and reporting were highly complex and paper-based and thus did not maximize the use of existing technology. The solution was to build a Web portal. The business process analysis yielded information to create a map of the flow of specimens, an arbovirus context diagram, and more than 200 requirements. The requirements identified in this process guided the design and creation of the Web portal. DISCUSSION: This report describes the process to build a Web portal to enhance laboratory testing and electronic reporting of Zika cases during the 2016 epidemic in Puerto Rico. We demonstrate the utility of applying the Collaborative Requirements Development Methodology, a proven informatics method, to the development of a Web portal for managing arboviruses in a health department.
Assuntos
Epidemias , Infecção por Zika virus , Zika virus , Feminino , Humanos , Laboratórios , Gravidez , Porto Rico/epidemiologia , Infecção por Zika virus/diagnóstico , Infecção por Zika virus/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Public health is what we do together as a society to ensure the conditions in which everyone can be healthy. Although many sectors play key roles, governmental public health is an essential component. Recent stressors on public health are driving many local governments to pioneer a new Public Health 3.0 model in which leaders serve as Chief Health Strategists, partnering across multiple sectors and leveraging data and resources to address social, environmental, and economic conditions that affect health and health equity. In 2016, the US Department of Health and Human Services launched the Public Health 3.0 initiative and hosted listening sessions across the country. Local leaders and community members shared successes and provided insight on actions that would ensure a more supportive policy and resource environment to spread and scale this model. This article summarizes the key findings from those listening sessions and recommendations to achieve Public Health 3.0.
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Administração em Saúde Pública/normas , Política de Saúde , Promoção da Saúde , Humanos , Saúde Pública , Administração em Saúde Pública/métodos , Estados UnidosRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To provide regional, state, and local public health officials a conceptual framework and checklist for assessing regional public health emergency preparedness, specifically in regard to cross-border public health preparedness needs. METHODS: The project had four phases that are as follows: defining the scope, conducting a literature review, soliciting expert opinion, and creating the assessment framework and checklist. A conceptual framework was developed to define the scope of the project on the basis of the kinds of resources likely to be shared across borders in a public health response (eg, data, supplies, staff), in support of the public health functions likely to be important in a health emergency (eg, epidemiology, laboratory). A literature review was then conducted to identify key articles and tools addressing regional preparedness. Key informant interviews (n = 23) were conducted with public health and emergency management professionals in the Pacific Northwest to identify a set of systems, agreements, and protocols that should be systematically considered in assessing regional public health preparedness. Using the literature review and themes from interviews, a checklist was developed. RESULTS: A checklist was developed for use by public health leaders, which recommends 24 specific agreements, protocols, systems, and management structures that should be considered to foster cross-border public health preparedness. CONCLUSIONS: Regional public health preparedness represents not only the sum of state-level preparedness of the states in a region but also the capacity of those states to collaborate across state and international borders during a public health emergency. This checklist provides a tool to systematically consider cross-border preparedness issues.
Assuntos
Planejamento em Desastres/métodos , Internacionalidade , Prática de Saúde Pública , Regionalização da Saúde/métodos , Colúmbia Britânica , Comunicação , Guias como Assunto , Humanos , Relações Interprofissionais , Entrevistas como Assunto , Avaliação das Necessidades , Noroeste dos Estados Unidos , Estados Unidos , United States Public Health ServiceAssuntos
Suicídio , Terminologia como Assunto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Tentativa de SuicídioAssuntos
Comunicação , Comportamento Social , Suicídio , Terminologia como Assunto , Humanos , Tentativa de SuicídioRESUMO
The rapid and effective response to a bioterrorist event requires the coordinated efforts of trained personnel from different agencies. This article describes the design and implementation of a 1-week cross-disciplinary course employing problem-based learning (PBL) for professionals with backgrounds in public health, fire/emergency medical services (EMS), law enforcement, emergency management, and hospital administration. The curriculum provided opportunities for professionals from different disciplines to meet and learn the priorities and resources of partner agencies. In course evaluations, participants rated the training highly and found it applicable to their work and a good use of time and training resources. PBL techniques were successful in fostering cross-agency communication, thereby showing promise as an effective training method for meeting local and national emergency preparedness objectives.
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Bioterrorismo , Planejamento em Desastres/organização & administração , Educação Profissional em Saúde Pública/organização & administração , Aprendizagem Baseada em Problemas/métodos , HumanosRESUMO
Access to epidemiologic data is critical to public health practice. Unfortunately, most published data are out of date and live databases are inaccessible because of issues of confidentiality, varying user needs, cost, security concerns, and other reasons. EpiQMS is a Web-based application that allows exploratory, statistical, and geographic analysis of public health data. Tables, graphs, and maps with adjustments for small areas are available at three levels: (1) the general public, (2) public health and medical practitioners, and (3) epidemiologists and health officers. The difference in each level is with respect to the presentation of small cell sizes and small geographies as set by the data set custodians.
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Bases de Dados Factuais , Armazenamento e Recuperação da Informação/métodos , Internet , Prática de Saúde Pública , Tomada de Decisões , Métodos Epidemiológicos , HumanosRESUMO
Public Health Informatics (PHI) education began at the University of Washington (UW) with a Summer Institute in 1995. The Biomedical and Health Informatics graduate program, which is housed in the School of Medicine, is an interdisciplinary, multi-school program. It demonstrates the UW's cooperative efforts in advancing informatics, encompassing the schools of public health, medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, information and graduate schools in computer science. This article provides an overview of the developmental milestones related to activities in PHI and describes the evaluation strategy and assessment plan for PHI training at the UW (http://phig.washington.edu).