TB Notes Newsletter
No. 4, 2010
COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION, AND BEHAVIORAL STUDIES BRANCH UPDATES
Web Content Syndication Now Available for TB Partners
When was the last time your organization’s website was updated (or reviewed)? When information or guidelines change, how long does it take to update your website content? Content syndication is a free service offered by CDC that can help manage content on your website.
Content syndication provides free CDC content (text and images) for partner websites. As information is updated on the CDC site, the syndicated content is automatically updated on the partner site.
Content syndication is currently being used by over 175 partners (both CDC and FDA). Syndicated topics include TB, tobacco, nutrition, and chronic disease information. Content syndication was used by the Ohio Department of Health for information on a recent Salmonella outbreak. Below is a good example of how syndicated content looks first on the CDC site and then on a partner site.
CDC site:
The Ohio Department of Health site:
Content syndication enables CDC partners to load content directly on to their websites. Only content (including images) are transferred; the website template and navigation remain that of the partner organization.
DTBE is beginning to make content available for syndication. Currently, the General TB Information factsheets in English and in Spanish are available for syndication (English: http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/general/tb.htm) Spanish: http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/general/tb_es.htm). DTBE is working to make additional web content available for syndication.
Advantages:
- Allows TB partners to incorporate CDC content directly into their own website. This keeps Internet users on the partner page, instead of being led away to the CDC website.
- Content on the local website is automatically updated when the CDC content is updated.
- Spanish content would be available without the need to pay for translation services. (Three of the five most syndicated content sites from CDC are Spanish translations.)
General information about content syndication can be found on the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/ContentSyndication.html. Frequently asked questions are posted at http://tools.cdc.gov/register/faqs.aspx. To review CDC pages available for syndication, or to register your organization for content syndication access, go to http://tools.cdc.gov/register/default.aspx. A list of TB syndicated content can be viewed at http://tools.cdc.gov/register/pages.aspx?topicId=147. Registering enables you to syndicate content from the CDC website. You’ll be asked to provide your organization and contact information. Upon registering, CDC will provide a unique registration ID that you’ll use to syndicate content. Your organization may already be syndicating content on other subject matters. If this is the case, your webmaster or public health program counterparts may be able to provide you with additional information.
At the August Education and Training Focal Point meeting, questions were raised regarding software compatibility and security. There are some known issues with compatibility, with certain websites not permitting automatic updates to change content. This is a configuration issue that can be modified by webmasters if needed. CDC is not aware of any security or firewall issues. If your webmasters have questions regarding content syndication, they can contact the DTBE Web team (hsttbwebteam@cdc.gov.)
Additional TB web content will be made available for syndication in the coming months. If you have any questions or content requests, please contact the DTBE Web team at hsttbwebteam@cdc.gov.
—Reported by Molly Dowling, MPH, CHES
Div of TB Elimination
2010 Program Managers’ Course
Overview of the TB Program Managers’ Course
The overall purpose of the TB Program Managers’ Course is to improve the planning and managerial capabilities of new TB program managers throughout the country. The course is designed for TB controllers, program managers, public health advisors, and nurse consultants with programmatic responsibilities at the state, big city, territorial, or regional (within a state) level. Optimally, a course participant should have occupied a TB program management position for at least 6 months, but no more than 3 years. Participants are nominated by the DTBE Program Consultant for their area.
2010 TB Program Managers’ Course
The 2010 course was held in Atlanta, Georgia, October 18–22, 2010. The DTBE Communications, Education, and Behavioral Studies Branch (CEBSB) would like to thank the faculty and participants of the October 2010 TB Program Managers’ Course for making the course such a success. The hard work of the faculty in preparing the materials for their sessions and the participants’ hard work during the course are greatly appreciated.
This year's 5-day training was divided into 17 sessions. Each session stood alone as a block of instruction, but was sequenced to build logically on the sessions preceding it. The course concluded with a charge to the participants and an opportunity for each of them to share at least one planned improvement in TB program activities that will be made as a result of taking the course.
The course stressed practical application of planning, management, and evaluation concepts to the specific issues and concerns of TB programs. Skills essential to TB program management were presented, followed by exercises that encouraged participants to practice using the skills in the classroom setting. Some new additions to the course were the rollout of the Menu of Suggested Provisions for State Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Laws, and a Lunch-n-Learn session on Genotyping and TB GIMS. In addition, the continuity of instructional strategies for the contact investigation and TB outbreaks sessions continued to be a big hit with participants.
These interactive sessions included a continuous case study, various visual aids, and role playing. At the end of each session, participants were asked to address specific questions in a Planning Guide, which required them to synthesize concepts presented in the session and apply them to their own programs. The Planning Guide was a tangible product that participants took home from the course, to serve as a record of personal course discoveries and, more importantly, as a road map for improving the effectiveness of their TB prevention and control efforts.
For the participants, the course is not entirely over. They will be mailed a 6-month follow-up questionnaire in April 2011. Once this questionnaire is completed and returned, each participant will receive a certificate of completion for the course.
—Submitted by Regina Bess, BS, and Allison Maiuri, MPH
Div of TB Elimination
Contact Us:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE)
1600 Clifton Rd., NE
MS E10
Atlanta, GA 30333 - 800-CDC-INFO
(800-232-4636)
TTY: (888) 232-6348 - New Hours of Operation
8am-8pm ET/Monday-Friday
Closed Holidays - cdcinfo@cdc.gov
