The International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, based in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, dedicated to the improvement of

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

by advancing the science and practice of

disease surveillance Disease surveillance is an epidemiological practice by which the spread of disease is monitored in order to establish patterns of progression. The main role of disease surveillance is to predict, observe, and minimize the harm caused by outbreak, ...

. ISDS facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration, promotes and conducts research, education, and advocacy. ISDS's 400+ membership represents professional and academic subject matter experts in the fields of

public health surveillance Public health surveillance (also epidemiological surveillance, clinical surveillance or syndromic surveillance) is, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), "the continuous, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health-relat ...

clinical practice Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

health informatics Health informatics is the field of science and engineering that aims at developing methods and technologies for the acquisition, processing, and study of patient data, which can come from different sources and modalities, such as electronic hea ...

health policy Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society".World Health Organization''Health Policy'' accessed 22 March 2011(Web archive)/ref> According to the ...

, and other areas related to national and

global health Global health is the health of the populations in the worldwide context; it has been defined as "the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide". Problem ...

surveillance. ISDS holds an annual national conference for the public health surveillance community. The ISDS is a member society of the ''Global Health Workforce Alliance'' founded in 2006.

History

The International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) grew out of interest in real-time detection, using non-traditional

surveillance methods Surveillance tools are all means technological provided and used by the surveillance industry, police or military intelligence, and national security institutions that enable individual surveillance and mass surveillance. Steven Ashley in 2008 liste ...

for the earlier detection of

disease outbreaks In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

than traditional disease detection systems prior to the

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

attacks in 2001. It was founded in 2005. ''Distribute'' was a project of the ISDS until 2012. Data mostly on

influenza-like illness Influenza-like illness (ILI), also known as flu-like syndrome or flu-like symptoms, is a medical diagnosis of possible influenza or other illness causing a set of common symptoms. These include fever, shivering, chills, malaise, dry cough, lo ...

es was collected from state and local public health organizations usually on a daily basis. This system allowed comparisons to be made between different states and cities. CDC funding for ''Distribute'' was discontinued in May 2012, and the site was taken offline.

Activities

Ongoing ISDS activities include: * Building and sustaining a surveillance

Community of Practice A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who "share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly". The concept was first proposed by cognitive anthropologist Jean Lave and educat ...

(CoP). * Fostering innovations in surveillance research and practice. * Increasing public health capacity by providing support and technical expertise to local, regional, and federal public

health practitioner A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a Nursing, nurse, physi ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and around the world. * Developing targeted resources to inform and expand the dialogue on timely topics of interest to the surveillance community. * Hosting surveillance education and training activities that build workforce competencies. * Convening the ISDS annual conference and disseminating findings by publishing abstracts in print and online proceedings.

Board of directors

ISDS is governed by a twelve-person Board of Directors representing national and international leaders in

. The board of directors was expanded to add the Board's first two international members in December 2013. This Board is responsible for governance of the society and adherence to the ISDS mission and values. While upholding these responsibilities, the Board provides strategic and fiscal oversight of ISDS activities. Board members take leadership roles within specific committees or areas while ensuring all programming furthers the goal of advancing public health surveillance. Members of the Board of Directors are elected for three year terms, at the end of which they may be reelected.

Membership

ISDS represents professionals from all aspects of the surveillance community. ISDS membership is open to

epidemiologists Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

, informaticists, public health practitioners,

health care providers A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...

statisticians A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may wor ...

, and others who are interested in exploring and addressing population health monitoring across institutional and

professional boundaries Professional boundaries are an important consideration in the relationship between any professional and their client. Nurse-client boundaries Boundaries are an integral part of the nurse-client relationship. They represent invisible structures i ...

Conference

The ISDS Conference is an event dedicated to the advancement of the science and practice of biosurveillance. Every year, the ISDS Conference draws over 350 professionals from a broad range of disciplines to learn the latest achievements, analytic methods, best practices, conceptual frameworks, and technical innovations in the rapidly evolving field of disease surveillance. The ISDS Conferences provide fertile ground for cultivating new ideas and partnerships by bringing together local, state, and federal public health practitioners, academic researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and decision makers from governmental and nongovernmental entities. The 12th Annual Conference was held in December 2013, in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Louisiana. The theme for the 2013 Conference—Translating Research and Surveillance into Action—highlighted one of the salient topics voiced by the biosurveillance community, and focused on strategies for incorporating the latest in biosurveillance approaches, methodologies, and results into data-driven public health practices, programs, and policies. The 13th Annual Conference was held in December at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

Website
{{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in Boston Organizations based in Boston Medical and health organizations based in Massachusetts