NSSP Update – February 2023
A Technical Newsletter for the NSSP Community of Practice | February 2023
The National Syndromic Surveillance Program issues NSSP Update monthly to share the latest Community of Practice activities, technical and program updates, and ways in which syndromic surveillance is improving public health.
COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE UPDATES
Quick Links ▪ Policy for Federal Access to NSSP Data ▪ Report-Outs ▪ Reminders and Announcements
KNOWLEDGE REPOSITORY
New How to Use RStudio with NSSP–ESSENCE APIs Posted in KR
Session Attribute IDs ▪ APIs to Pull Facility-Level Metrics ▪ Resources for Machine Learning for Text Analysis and Natural Language Processing
TECHNICAL UPDATES
Patching Schedule ▪ Dashboard Uses NSSP Surveillance Data ▪ Publication Updates
DATA QUALITY CORNER
Data filtering affects data quality. This explanation about NSSP–ESSENCE filters and filter years will help you control for which facilities are included in the analyses.
TECHNICAL FAQs
TECHNICAL RESOURCE CENTER
Job Aids Consolidate Resources and Streamline Query Development
The Ultimate Guide for Site Administrators and Query Development: Community and Technical Resources includes many “best of” syndromic surveillance resources and practices.
NSSP FACILITY PARTICIPATION
Monthly National-level Free-text ESSENCE Queries
Analysts can exercise a high level of customization by using free-text queries. They can quickly code free-text queries and rapidly respond to outbreaks, disasters, and health events that unfold. These word clouds capture free-text queries from a national perspective.
Developing Syndrome Definitions
NSSP works with health departments, CDC programs, and others to develop and improve syndrome definitions. Here is a list of the syndromes being worked on now.