School of Public Health - Professional Development

PUBLIC HEALTH School of

Professional Development

Surveillance for Public Health

publichealth.ualberta.ca

What is Public Health Surveillance?

If public health is about promoting and protecting the health of people, then surveillance is one of the main ways we continuously gather, analyze and interpret health-relevant data to achieve this end.

Surveillance can warn us about impending public health emergencies. It can reveal how well an intervention has worked.

And, with surveillance, we are better positioned to anticipate and respond to public health threats with effective policies and strategies.

Who should attend?

These courses are ideal for practitioners, clinicians and policy developers working in health services, health systems, government and non-governmental organizations. If you have experience in one or more of these areas—but have limited exposure to the theory and practice of surveillance—the knowledge you gain will broaden your understanding and influence how you approach your work.

Learn from leading experts in public health surveillance and expand your tool box of skills.

Register to learn how you can use surveillance to be more effective in your job.

Course Overviews Introduction to Public Health Surveillance (4.5 days) Public health surveillance provides the health-related data needed for making good decisions and taking appropriate actions. In this course, you will gain a basic understanding of public health surveillance, and learn about practical tools for designing, managing and evaluating surveillance systems.

This course is aimed at public health professionals with limited exposure to the concepts of epidemiology. You are encouraged to take this foundational course before enrolling in the other courses listed below.

Infectious Disease Outbreak Investigations (2 days) From H1N1 to SARS, and chicken pox to whooping cough, the outbreak of an infectious disease is a cause for concern. This course will provide an overview of the steps to investigating outbreaks in order to better understand, control and prevent the spread of disease.

Evidence for Decision Making (2 days) This workshop provides an introduction to using evidence in the decision-making process for policy and program development. Learn about knowledge exchange and management, including strategies for placing data into context. Learn about the policy process and the needs of both the policy maker and researcher in collaborative applied work.

Geographic Information Science in Public Health (2 days) Geographic information systems are a powerful tool for acquiring access to a variety of location-based data. How can the science of geographic information be used effectively in public health? This hands-on course will provide you with an understanding of its role in guiding public health decisions.

Data Analysis for Public Health Surveillance (2 days) Data, data and more data. How do you make sense of it all? And, more importantly, how can you help others make sense of it? In this course, you will learn the basics of data analysis and statistics to support accurate interpretations of health surveillance data. You will also gain hands-on experience with statistical and graphics software.

Visit our website at bit.ly/sph_Surveillance for detailed information about these courses, including dates, location and tuition.

The School of Public Health is Canada’s first stand-alone faculty dedicated solely to public health. Through our graduate programs, interdisciplinary research and community engagement activities, we are promoting health and wellness, protecting health, preventing disease and reducing health disparities across Alberta, Canada and around the world.

We are located on the north campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Would you like to know more?

Visit our website at bit.ly/sph_Surveillance for detailed information about these courses, including dates, location and tuition.

For inquiries about this series, please contact: Ashley Orleski, Project Coordinator 780.248.1268 ashley.orleski@ualberta.ca

Contact Us Education Office School of Public Health, University of Alberta 3-300 Edmonton Clinic Health Academy 11405 - 87 Ave, Edmonton AB T6G 1C9 Canada 780.492.5918

@UofAPublicHlth

sph.programs@ualberta.ca

SPHUofA

School of Public Health, UAlberta

Š 2012 University of Alberta, School of Public Health. June 2012

publichealth.ualberta.ca