Report
Note: Workshop Summaries contain the opinion of the presenters, but do NOT reflect the conclusions of the IOM. Learn more about the differences between Workshop Summaries and Consensus Reports.
In an effort to increase our knowledge and understanding of the role of the private and public health sectors in emerging infectious diseases surveillance and response, the Forum hosted a two day workshop in November, 1998. The workshop, titled, Public Health Systems: Assessing Capacities to Respond to Emerging Infections, explored how the privatization of public health laboratories and the modernization of public health care may impact infectious disease surveillance and outbreak detection.
The changing face of health care poses new challenges for the detection, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases. Historically, local public health departments, hospitals, and clinics have been at the forefront of infectious disease outbreak detection and treatment. Managed care organizations and privatization of public health laboratories continue to grow in response to the needs of the communities they serve. Yet, simultaneously, many of the specific functions of public health laboratories and epidemiological services may be eroding. Along with that erosion local public health systems may have a diminished capacity to detect and respond to an emerging infectious disease.
A central theme running throughout the workshop was the capacity of public health systems at the state and local level to detect and respond to an infectious disease outbreak.
The workshop served to open a dialogue on public health systems to identify and discuss issues of mutual concern among representatives from the affected parties. The workshop consisted of four sessions, each addressing various components of the public health system, as follows:
- Epidemic Investigation
- Surveillance
- Communication, Coordination, Education, and Outreach
- Strategic Planning, Resource Allocation, and Economic Support
A workshop report summarizes the present status and highlights possible strategies for improvement among the affected parties, as well as facilitate future planning. The report discusses the scientific and technical underpinnings upon which to base sound policy and advice on the epidemiological and laboratory capacity of state and local private and public health systems to detect, monitor, and control emerging infections.
Other Reports by this Activity
Displaying: 3 of 22 Reports
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Global Issues in Water, Sanitation, and Health. Workshop Summary
Worldwide, over one billion people lack access to an adequate water supply. Recognizing water availability, water quality, and sanitation as fundamental issues underlying infectious disease emergence, the IOM’s Forum on Microbial Threats held a two-day public workshop.
Released: September 25, 2009
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Microbial Evolution and Co-Adaptation. A Tribute to the Life and Scientific Legacies of Joshua Lederberg. Workshop Summary
Dr. Joshua Lederberg – scientist, Nobel laureate, visionary thinker, and friend of the Forum on Microbial Threats – died on February 2, 2008. It was in his honor that the Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Microbial Threats convened a public workshop on May 20-21, 2008, to examine Dr. Lederberg’s scientific and policy contributions to the marketplace of ideas in the life sciences, medicine, and public policy. The resulting workshop summary, Microbial Evolution and Co-Adaptation, demonstrates the extent to which conceptual and technological developments have, within a few short years, advanced our collective understanding of the microbiome, microbial genetics, microbial communities, and microbe-host-environment interactions.
Released: March 27, 2009
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