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How To... - Disseminate Data
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Dissemination and communication cannot be used interchangeably.
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A basic framework for disseminating surveillance results with the intent of communication is presented in Principles and Practice of Public Health Surveillance (Teutsch and Churchill, 2000). This model includes the sender, the message, the receiver, the channel and the impact. The sender is the person, program, or agency responsible for surveillance. Key components of the process include the following:
The communication objective or purpose of the state PedNSS and PNSS data report should, in part, reflect the purpose of nutrition surveillance by describing trends and patterns in key indicators of maternal and child nutrition status in low-income populations. Messages might include describing changes in specific health indicators and the impact of the changes in the state or increasing awareness of a public health problem in specific groups.
Identifying target groups is a crucial part of the process of developing strategies to communicate and disseminate surveillance data. Determine who needs to hear about the nutrition surveillance results. Key target groups include public and private health care providers, professional and volunteer organizations, academic institutions, and policy makers such as state legislators. When you have defined your target audience, gear everything to that audience.
After you have determined the message and the audience for your nutrition surveillance results, decide on the appropriate method to communicate the information. Traditionally, surveillance data have been disseminated through published reports. However, other methods such as electronic dissemination may allow you to reach a larger segment of your target audience. Examples of communication options include publications such as a written surveillance report and newsletters; electronic channels such as audio-conference and Internet posting; media such as news releases and fact sheets; and public forums such as conferences and other planned meetings.
It is critical to make sure that the information is effectively communicated and not merely disseminated to those who need to know.
Because public health surveillance is oriented toward action, an evaluation should focus on 1) whether surveillance information was communicated to those who needed to have it and 2) whether the information had a beneficial effect on the problem(s) of interest.