Community of Practice Assessment - web

Attachment C—Community of Practice Data Collection Instrument: Web Version

Form Approved
OMB No. 0920-0879
Expiration Date: 01/31/2021
The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), through a cooperative agreement
with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cultivates, facilitates, and maintains
the online National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) Community of Practice.
CSTE is seeking input on how well the NSSP Community of Practice is meeting the needs of its
members. As a valuable member of the community, CSTE invites you to participate in this
member satisfaction and needs assessment. Your feedback is important to us and will be used
to make improvements and plan future activities for the Community of Practice.
Completing the assessment is voluntary and takes approximately 15 minutes. Please complete
the assessment in a single session as you will not be able to save it and return to it later.
Results of the assessment will be aggregated and shared with CDC and the NSSP Community
of Practice membership via a final report, webinar, and/or publication. CDC and CSTE will not
publish or share any identifying information about individual respondents or health
departments/agencies.
If you have questions regarding the assessment or the NSSP Community of Practice, please
contact Hayleigh McCall at [email protected] or (770) 458-3811. Thank you for your
participation.
Hayleigh McCall, MPH
Program Analyst III
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE)

CDC estimates the average public reporting burden for this collection of information as 15
minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing
data/information sources, gathering and maintaining the data/information needed, and
completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor,
and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any
other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing burden to
CDC/ATSDR Information Collection Review Office, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-74, Atlanta,
Georgia 30333; ATTN: PRA (0920-0879).

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Which best describes the type of public health agency or department in which you work?

o State
o Local
o Federal
Which of the following best describes your role in relation to syndromic surveillance?
Select all that apply.

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BioSense Platform Site Administrator
Data Analyst
Environmental Health Specialist
Emergency Preparedness and Response Specialist
Epidemiologist
Health Communicator
HL7 Data Analyst
IT/Informatics Specialist
Physician/Medical Officer
Policy Analyst
Program Evaluator
Program Manager/Coordinator
Project Officer

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Statistician
Web Manager/Developer
Other, specify: ________________________________________________

Overall, how long have you been working in syndromic surveillance (even if it's only part of your
role)?

o 1 year or less
o 2-5 years
o 6-10 years
o More than 10 years
Do you regularly attend (at least once every 3 months) the monthly NSSP Community of
Practice call/webinar on the third Tuesday of each month from 3pm-4:30pm Eastern Time?

o Yes
o No
Display This Question:
If Do you regularly attend (at least once every 3 months) the monthly NSSP Community of Practice
cal... = No

Please explain why not. Select all that apply.

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I was not aware of the monthly NSSP Community of Practice call/webinar.
The day of the week (third Tuesday of the month) is inconvenient for me.
The time of the call (3pm-4:30pm Eastern Time) is inconvenient for me.
I don't have the time.
The presentations on the webinars rarely interest me or relate to my work.
Other, specify: ________________________________________________

Display This Question:
If Do you regularly attend (at least once every 3 months) the monthly NSSP Community of Practice
cal... = Yes

How satisfied are you with the following aspects of the monthly NSSP Community of Practice
call/webinar?
Satisfied
The video
conferencing
tool (WebEx)
The NSSP
updates
provided by
CDC NSSP staff
The variety of
syndromic
surveillance
presentations
The length of the
call/webinar (90
mins.)

Somewhat
satisfied

Somewhat
dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

The amount of
time allotted for
Q&A
The ability to
view the
call/webinar
slides and
recording on the
Knowledge
Repository
following the
meeting

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

Display This Question:
If How satisfied are you with the following aspects of the monthly NSSP Community of Practice
call/w... [ Somewhat dissatisfied] (Count) >= 1
Or How satisfied are you with the following aspects of the monthly NSSP Community of Practice
call/w... [ Dissatisfied] (Count) >= 1

Please explain why you selected being "somewhat dissatisfied" or "dissatisfied" with any of the
above aspects of the monthly NSSP Community of Practice call/webinar.
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Which syndromic surveillance-related topic(s) would you like highlighted on future NSSP
Community of Practice monthly calls/webinars? Select all that apply.

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Infectious Disease
Chronic Disease
Injury Prevention
Mental/Behavioral Health
Environmental Health
Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
Emerging diseases or conditions
BioSense Platform enhancements/new functionalities
Updates from the NSSP Community of Practice subcommittees and workgroups
Data sharing barriers between jurisdictions
Data sharing for public use
Other, specify: ________________________________________________

Please provide any feedback on how the monthly NSSP Community of Practice call/webinar
can be improved.
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Do you participate in any of the following NSSP Community of Practice subcommittees,
workgroups or user groups? Select all that apply.

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Data Quality Subcommittee (DQ)
Syndrome Definition Subcommittee (SD)

Syndromic Surveillance Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Response, and
Recovery Subcommittee (SPHERR)

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Technical Subcommittee (Tech)
Data Sharing Workgroup
Training Workgroup
Racial and Ethnicity Data Quality Improvement Workgroup
NSSP R User Group
NSSP ESSENCE User Group
None

Through being a member of the NSSP Community of Practice, to what extent...
To a great
extent

To a moderate
extent

To a small
extent

Not at all

Have you increased
your knowledge of
syndromic
surveillance?

o

o

o

o

Have you made new
syndromic
surveillance
contacts?

o

o

o

o

Have you been able
to get help with
solving syndromic
surveillance related
issues/problems?

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

Have your career
prospects
improved?
Have you been
better able to find
syndromic
surveillance
resources?
Have your
leadership skills
improved?
Have you been able
to transfer what you
heard/learned back
to your team or
department/agency?

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To what extent do you think the NSSP Community of Practice...
To a great
extent
Has leveraged the expertise
and resources of its members?
Has helped build syndromic
surveillance expertise and
capacity in your
jurisdiction/department/agency?
Has helped increase
interjurisdictional
collaborations?
Has helped increase
interjurisdictional data sharing?
Has helped increase
collaborations between CDC
and your jurisdiction?
Has helped increase data
sharing between CDC and your
jurisdiction?

To a
moderate
extent

To a small
extent

Not sure

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

Has helped to integrate
syndromic surveillance into
everyday public health
practice?

o

o

o

o

Has created an inclusive and
welcoming environment where
members feel comfortable
expressing their opinion?

o

o

o

o

Has done a good job of
promoting the utility and
application of syndromic
surveillance?

Which of the following do you want the NSSP Community of Practice to provide? Select all that
apply.

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Practice

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Syndromic surveillance-specific tools, dashboards, or methods
Syndromic surveillance related trainings
Data sharing workshops
Specific activities and resources for new syndromic surveillance users
One-on-one consultations/problem solving with SMEs
Peer-to-peer mentoring
Recognition for contributions and participation in the NSSP Community of

A designated venue for getting member's input on relevant decisions affecting
the entire NSSP Community of Practice

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others)

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others)

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Presentations from other federal agencies (DoD, Veterans Affairs, SAMHSA, or

Presentations from other public health organizations (non-profits, academia, or

Other, specify: ________________________________________________

Overall, how satisfied are you with your membership in the NSSP Community of Practice?

o Satisfied
o Somewhat satisfied
o Somewhat dissatisfied
o Dissatisfied

Display This Question:
If Overall, how satisfied are you with your membership in the NSSP Community of Practice? =
Somewhat dissatisfied
Or Overall, how satisfied are you with your membership in the NSSP Community of Practice? =
Dissatisfied

Please explain why you are "somewhat dissatisfied" or "dissatisfied" with your membership in
the NSSP Community of Practice.
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Do you have any additional feedback to provide on your experience with the NSSP Community
of Practice?
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How important are the following NSSP Community of Practice resources in helping you stay
current in syndromic surveillance?
Critical

NSSP CoP
Knowledge
Repository
CDC NSSP
Technical
Resource
Center
CSTE
NSSP CoP
Webpage
Monthly
NSSP
Newsletter
NSSP CoP
Slack
Channel
Health
Surveillance
Slack
Channel

Important

Somewhat
important

Not
important

Not aware
of this
resource

Aware of
this
resource
but have
not used

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

How often do you use the following NSSP Community of Practice Knowledge Repository-related
tools?
Frequently
NSSP CoP
monthly meeting
recordings
NSSP CoP
subcommittee
meeting
recordings
Syndrome
definition library

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

Stories of
surveillance in
action
Use case library
Syndromic
surveillance
webinar library
Trending topics
The "Search All"
function to find
other content

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o
o
o

o
o
o

o
o
o

o
o
o

Please provide any feedback on how the NSSP CoP Knowledge Repository can be improved.
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Please select up to 5 topics that reflect your most important syndromic surveillance training
needs.

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Data analytics (analyzing and interpreting raw data to help with public health
decision making)

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Data visualization (graphs, tables, dashboards)
Recognizing and improving data quality
Developing and evaluating new syndromes
Strategies to increase data sharing
Conducting an after-action review, hotwash, and implementing corrective actions
Data mining, machine learning, API
Developing and writing success stories
Using syndromic surveillance in a national response
NSSP ESSENCE (beginner to intermediate)
NSSP ESSENCE (advanced)
NSSP R (beginner to intermediate)
NSSP R (advanced)
NSSP SAS Studio
Other, specify: ________________________________________________

If the following data sources were available in the NSSP ESSENCE application, how useful
would they be for your site's surveillance activities?
Very useful
Ambulatory
care/urgent care
data
Department of
Defense ED and
urgent care
facilities data
EMS/911
records
Federally
Qualified Health
Centers data
Health care data
from correctional
facilities
Health care data
from facilities
supporting
people
experiencing
homelessness
(heating and
cooling shelters,
clinics, etc.)
Indian Health
Services ED and
urgent care
facilities data
Inpatient data
Mortality data
Over-the-counter
drug sales
Poison center
call records

Somewhat
useful

Not useful

Not sure

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o
o
o
o

o
o
o
o

o
o
o
o

o
o
o
o

o

o

o

o

Reportable
disease case
data
School
absenteeism
data
Test orders and
results for all
drug tests
(opioids,
cocaine, etc.)
from commercial
laboratory data
Test orders and
results for all
reportable
conditions from
commercials
laboratory data
Veterans Affairs
ED and urgent
care facilitates
Wastewater
disease
surveillance data

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

Please describe other datasets that would be useful for your site if they were available in the
NSSP ESSENCE application.
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How has your jurisdiction used syndromic surveillance to support the COVID-19 response?
Select all that apply.

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is used)

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Internal situational awareness (dashboards, Powerpoint slides, reports, etc.)
Public situational awareness (dashboards, Powerpoint slides, reports, etc.)
Communication with leadership (dashboards, Powerpoint slides, reports, etc.)
Decision-making (policy changes)
Case finding (early in the response)
Intervention (infection control in at-risk facilities)
Not sure (while I work with syndromic surveillance data, I am not aware of how it

Other, specify: ________________________________________________
Did not use

Display This Question:
If How has your jurisdiction used syndromic surveillance to support the COVID-19 response? Select
al... = Did not use

Why have you not used syndromic surveillance to support the COVID-19 response in your
jurisdiction?
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To what extent has your involvement in the NSSP Community of Practice aided your response
to a public health emergency in the past 12 months?

o To a great extent
o To a moderate extent
o To a small extent
o Not at all
How can the NSSP Community of Practice better support your jurisdiction/department/agency
during a public health emergency?
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Please provide any additional comments on issues or concerns we might not have addressed in
this assessment.
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Thank you for participating in this assessment. Your input will help improve the NSSP
Community of Practice.

Advancing to the next page will save and submit your responses.