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ISDS 2018 Conference Abstracts

Poison center data for public health surveillance: 
Poison center and public health perspectives
Emily V. Glidden1, Jay Schauben2, Prakash R. Mulay3 and Royal Law*1
1HSB/ETT, CDC/ONDIEH/NCEH, Atlanta, GA, USA; 2Florida/USVI Poison Information Center, Jacksonville, FL, USA; 3Florida 
Department of Health, Tallahassee, FL, USA

Objective
To discuss the use of poison center (PC) data for public health 

(PH) surveillance at the local, state, and federal levels. To generate 
meaningful discussion on how to facilitate greater PC and PH 
collaboration.

Introduction
Since 2008, poisoning is the leading cause of injury-related death 

in the United States; since 1980, the poisoning-related fatality rate 
in the United States (U.S.) has almost tripled1. Many poison-related 
injuries and deaths are reported to regional PCs which receive 
about 2.4 million reports of human chemical and poison exposures 
annually2. Federal, state, and local PH agencies often collaborate with 
PCs and use PC data for PH surveillance to identify poisoning-related 
health issues. Many state and local PH agencies have partnerships 
with regional PCs for direct access to local PC data which help them 
perform this function. At the national level, the National Center for 
Environmental Health (NCEH) of the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC) conducts PH surveillance for exposures and 
illnesses of PH significance using the National Poison Data System 
(NPDS), the national PC reporting database and real-time surveillance 
system.

Though most PC and PH officials agree that PC data play an 
important role in PH practice and surveillance, collaboration between 
PH agencies and PCs can be hindered by numerous challenges. To 
address these challenges and bolster collaboration, the PC and PH 
Collaborations Community of Practice (CoP) has collaborated with 
members to provide educational webinars; newsletters highlighting 
the intersection of PH and PC work; and in-person meetings at 
relevant national and international conferences. The CoP includes 
over 200 members from state and local PH departments, regional PCs, 
CDC, the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), 
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Keywords
Poison Control Center; Department of Public Health; Center for 
Disease Control and Prevention; Collaboration

References
1Warner M, Chen LH, Makuc DM, Anderson RN, and Minino AM. Drug 

Poisoning Deaths in the United States, 1980–2008. National Center 
for Health Statistics Data Brief, December 2011. Accessed 8/29/2012.

2Mowry JB, Spyker DA, Brooks DE, Zimmerman A, Schauben JL (2016) 
2015 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control 
Centers’ National Poison Data Systems (NPDS): 33rd Annual Report, 
Clinical Toxicology, 54:10, 924-1109.

*Royal Law
E-mail: hua1@cdc.gov

Online Journal of Public Health Informatics * ISSN 1947-2579 * http://ojphi.org * 10(1):e77, 2018