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Specialized Seminars - Sample Session
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Computer-Assisted Reporting Workshop:
Health Care Reporting
Kansas City, Mo.
Sept. 11-13, 1998

Friday:
8:30 a.m.	Registration, with refreshments
9 a.m.	Welcome
9:15 a.m.	From the beginning of life to the end: An overview of standard health care databases and their uses in reporting. Sarah Cohen, IRE and NICAR.
10 a.m.	A focus on prevention: How the CDC addresses chronic disease prevention through surveillance and other data-gathering activities. David Nelson M.D., CDC
10:45.a.m.	Break
11:00 a.m.	Valuable data: Learning about the Behavorial Risk Factor Surveillance System. Jeanette Jackson-Thompson Ph.D., Mo. Dept. of Health
Noon	Lunch.
1:30 p.m.	Avoiding the minefields in medical reporting. Victor Cohn, reporter and author.
2:30 p.m.	Tips from the experts: How epidemiologists use the behavorial risk data in identifying public health issues. Ross Brownson Ph.D., St. Louis University.
3:30 p.m.	Break
3:45 p.m.	Journalists and health officials roundtable: Collaborating on the best health care reporting, including examples of translating your findings, of using data properly and of writing it with authority.
4:45 p.m.	Wrap-up and Q & A.
5 p.m.	Reception
Saturday
9 a.m.	Interpreting epidemiologic information. Patrick Remington, M.D., University of Wisconsin.
10:15 a.m.	A demonstration of CDC's Wonder system for obtaining health data from around the country and for counties in your state. Patrick Remington, M.D.
11 a.m.	Victor Cohn will moderate an open session devoted to journalists' questions. Suggested topics include: the value of HMO quality reports, unexamined statistics from HHS, covering doctors' and surgeons' quality.
Hands on training	The remainder of Saturday and Sunday will focus on learning to use health databases, particularly the behavioral risk data. This database allows journalists to evaluate health insurance coverage, smoking, drinking, and physical exercise in their states. The trainers will be overseen by NICAR, which has trained thousands of journalists at more than 150 seminars over the past four years.