CSTE Annual Disaster Epidemiology Workshop Planning

Call Notes - 11.30.18

2019 CSTE DE Workshop Planning Kick-Off Call - 11.30.18

Logistics:
  • Location: CSTE Century Center Conference Room
  • Funding: some ties to SAMSHA, plan to have disaster mental health presentations 

Goals of Annual Workshop:
  1. To train STLT public health epidemiologists in DE
    • Could be their only exposure/training in DE so need to be sure to ID how to use it in their own work
  2. To discuss lessons learned/best practices/emerging methods
  3. To build field of DE by determining which direction we should move/work towards

Previous Workshop Challenges:
  • Last minute notice that speakers will not be able to attend (often due to approval)
  • Yearly timing competes with graduations
    • Makes getting hotel blocks more difficult
  • Finding the appropriate balance between STLT presentations and Federal presentations

Findings from 2018 Workshop Evaluation:
  • Attendees want practical information - how to apply DE methods, get involved in DE activities, and how to utilize DE for PHEP
  • Syndromic surveillance (SyS) and CASPER presentations were the most popular
  • Requests for more analytic/data/epi-heavy presentations
  • Might be helpful to have some sort of DE 101 information
  • Many ID folks attend
    • Tie together shelter surveillance & ID outbreaks in congregate locations 
  • Want more information on long-term recovery (i.e., long-term health impacts) activities/methods
  • Want more interaction/networking during workshop
  • Want more of a STLT presence
    • How tools are utilized at the local or state level
  • Need to engage webinar attendees more
    • Have moderator for chat box
    • Use polling
      • Zoom
      • Mentimeter (cell phone app)
    • Host a 1/2 day tabletop online with an after-action discussion at workshop
    • WebEx Trainings has whiteboard, interactive capabilities
    • Use camera in room
    • Develop discussion questions prior to workshop & send out
    • Start later for West Coast participants
  • Should make a push for PHEP coordinators to be there

Thoughts for Agenda:
  • Mental health
    • Marigny (CO) could do a presentation on the mass shooting at a Planned Parenthood
    • Lots of Las Vegas Shooting work been done
      • Svetlana (CA) saw a psychologist at a conference who discussed mass shootings/violence as a public health issues - will pass along his information
    • Vulnerable populations & mental health
  • DE 101 & EM 101
    • For newbies to DE and EM
    • Could either have at beginning of 1st morning OR sent our prior to the workshop
    • Would need assistance in developing
    • Should answer: how to incorporate DE into job, how to plan/execute exercises
  • PHEP connection
    • How to tie DE & PHEP capabilities
    • How to gain more buy-in for DE
    • Discussion on PHEP barriers (could have pointed questions prepared ahead of time)
    • Presentation on the breakdown of where DE fits in which each PHEP capability 
  • Best practices/lessons learned from state and local coordination during disasters
    • Presentations with examples of collaborations
      • State epis & local epids
      • Epis & EMs
      • Epis & PHEP coordinators
  • Innovative Epi Methods for DE
    • GIS/spatial analysis
      • Ex. knowing which clinics were still open in Puerto Rico (used NASA satellites & what was "lit up")
    • Health impact analyses (e.g., utilizing registries, cohort studies)
    • How methods change based on size (local, county, state)
    • Syndromic surveillance
  • Wildfires & mortality surveillance
    • Presentation on working with medical examiners
    • Talk about disaster-related death tools released from CDC
    • Locals (CA) doing mortality surveillance
  • Workgroups could meet in person during lunch breaks (or during breakouts)

Next Steps:
  1. Hayleigh to send out Doodle to set up recurring call
  2. Send ideas to Tess & Hayleigh 

Comments & Events

Hayleigh McCall turned on public link sharing for this document on