CSTE ANNUAL MEETING CSTE POSITION STATEMENT 1996-1 COMMITTEE: Environmental/Occupational/Injury Committee TITLE: Implementation of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) - Occupational Disease, Injury and Hazard Surveillance Research Priority ISSUE: The large burden of occupational injuries and illnesses in the United States, coupled with ever-dimishing fiscal resources requires priority setting. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently published the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) detailing a national research agenda containing research priorities. Surveillance research is one of the priority areas. NORA also contains many direct and indirect roles for surveillance and state contributions. The next step is for NIOSH and its partners to develop an implementation strategy. POSITION TO BE ADOPTED: CSTE recommends that: (1) NIOSH begin implementation of the surveillance research priority area by reactivating the NIOSH Board of Scientific Councilors (BSC) Surveillance subcommittee. Membership should include CSTE as well as other NIOSH surveillance partners. The subcommittee should serve as a focus for developing an agency-wide surveillance research implementation plan, provide assistance to current NIOSH surveillance activities and provide a program evaluation role assessing current NIOSH surveillance efforts and monitoring for the NIOSH Director toward progress in the implementation of NORA. (2) NIOSH should assure that at least one NIOSH BSC member has practical experience designing and implementing state based public health surveillance programs.  BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION: Surveillance is the underlying foundation of epidemiology programs in state and territorial health departments. The majority of occupational disease and injury surveillance occurring today is at the state level and is conducted by CSTE members. Epidemiologic surveillance is among the highest of CSTE priorities. In recognition of the need for advancement of surveillance techniques, CSTE and its members have taken the lead in developing a blueprint for a national public health surveillance system for the 21st century and jointly developed (with NIOSH) guidelines for state or territory based activities.  CSTE members have more than a decade of practical experience experimenting with and implementing different occupational disease and injury surveillance models. The CSTE/state partnership embodied in the Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR), the Fatal Accident Circumstances in Epidemiology (FACE) program, agriculture inititative and other NIOSH supported surveillance efforts has allowed CSTE members to develop superior skills and to rank among the most experienced surveillance practitioners. SENSOR has significantly evolved and improved since its inception and has become an extremely successful and cost-effective proving ground for state-based surveillance research.  When first constituted, the NIOSH BSC surveillance subcommittee worked very closely with Dr. Edward L. Baker, Director, Public Health Pratice Program Office (PHPPO), CDC in conceptualizing what became the SENSOR program. They also reviewed existing NIOSH program activity and provided advice concerning the role of surveillance at NIOSH. They assisted states during implementation of SENSOR. With change in BSC membership and the departure of Dr. Baker, the BSC subcommittee activity decreased and has been inactive for over five years.  COORDINATION WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS Agencies for Response: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health  Agencies for Information: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Occupational Safety and Health Administration National Center for Environmental Health  Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registries Other federal agencies working with NIOSH on surveillance issues Contact: Henry A. Anderson, M.D. Chief Medical Officer/State Environmental and  Occupational Disease Epidemiologist Wisconsin Bureau of Public Health 1414 East Washington Ave., Room 96 Madison, WI 53704 Telephone: (608) 266-1253 Fax: (608) 267-4853  HAA0@WONDER.EM.CDC.GOV