The CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is used in the United States as a state-based system of health surveys that collects information on health risk behaviors, preventive health practices, and health care access primarily related to chronic disease and injury.
The timely data on health related behaviors obtained by BRFSS is used by states to identify and track health objectives, and develop and evaluate public health policies and programs.
The 2009 H1N1 ILI module is able to indicate how much ILI is reported in the participating states and territories. When participants report that they have had ILI, they are asked follow-up questions, including whether they sought medical care for their illness. Participants are also asked whether anyone in their households were hospitalized for ILI. These data are supplemental to CDC’s weekly FluView surveillance system and provide additional information about ILI, and also about behaviors related to influenza.
Country offices can learn more about the BRFSS at http://www.cdc.gov/brfss and possibly develop context specific questionnaires of their own.
Please see CARE's new Flu Site:http://www.flu.care.org/ for the latest guidance documents from CARE, CDC, WHO in addition to pandemic preparedness and staff safety and security guidelines.
**************** Please also see the Humanitarian Pandemic Preparedness (H2P) site (http://pandemicpreparedness.org/) for guidance on response at the household and community level in developing countries for humanitarian and community-based organizations.
The H2P Initiative, coordinated by Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and including a wide-range of international partners (including CARE), aims to build a chain of health and disaster management tools and practices to inform and strengthen capacity of community first-responders during an influenza pandemic.
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The purpose of the CARE Pandemic and Avian Flu Blog is to create a simple site where CARE staff can stay updated on the latest and most important pandemic and AI news. Since we have access to information and are constantly looking over pandemic and AI related news and materials, it helps us narrow down the best information and provide an easy place for CARE staff to stay updated with information tailored to their needs.
The types of news and information that are posted include:
1. New outbreaks in animals or poultry or new human cases
2. News stories related to pandemic preparedness
3. New tools and materials, especially for community level work or pandemicpreparedness
4. Programs and ideas being implemented by CARE staff
5. Upcoming conferences, events, trainings
All contributors to this blog are subject matter experts in avian and pandemic flu and take news and materials only from the most reputable sources. However, the purpose of a blog is about sharing new information quickly. Therefore, there may occasionally be inaccuracies and mistakes, as there is in all reporting. We will do our best.
Please note, the information and comments here reflect only the opinions and perspectives of the contributors, not CARE as a whole. Please feel free to use the comments function to reply to postings. If you work on avian flu in CARE and would like to be a contributor, please let us know at AvianFluWG@CARE.org
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