Announcements

Introduction to Public Health Surveillance Course

CDC and the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University will cosponsor the course, Introduction to Public Health Surveillance, May 2-6, 201 1, at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The course is designed for state and local public health professionals.

The course will provide theoretical and practical knowledge to enable participants to design, implement, and evaluate effective public health surveillance programs. Topics scheduled for presentation include an overview and history of surveillance systems; planning considerations; sources and collection of data; analysis, interpretation, and communication of data; surveillance systems technology; ethics and legalities; state and local concerns; and future considerations. Tuition is charged.

Additional information and applications are available by mail (Emory University, Hubert Department of Global Health [Attn: Pia], 1518 Clifton Rd. NE, CNR Bldg., Rm. 7038, Atlanta, GA 30322); telephone (404-727-3485); fax (404-727-4590); Internet (http://www.sph.emory.edu/epicourses); or e-mail (pvaleri@emory.edu) .

Release of New WISQARS Cost of Injury Reports

CDCs Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) is a leading source of injury statistics in the United States. WISQARS is an interactive, web-based query system that provides data on injury deaths, violent deaths, and nonfatal injuries. CDC s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) is introducing a new WISQARS Cost of Injury Reports module that provide cost estimates for injury deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency department visits in which the patient was treated and released.

Users can use the query system to create tables with medical (e.g., treatment and rehabilitation), work loss (e.g., lost wages, benefits, and self-reported household services), and combined (medical plus work loss) costs based on a number of variables, including intent and mechanism (cause) of injury, body region and diagnosis of injury, geographic location (for deaths only), sex, and age. The WISQARS Cost of Injury Reports module is a valuable tool to help raise awareness of the economic impact of fatal and nonfatal injuries in the United States. Additional information is available at http://www.cdc. go v/in jury/wisqars .