Key points
- A CDC team spent a year modernizing NNDSS's communication strategy, including doing a website redesign, digital content optimization, and media outreach.
- The team set up automated data process that reduce manual errors and improve efficiency.
Public health problem
Case surveillance is foundational to public health practice. It helps us understand diseases and their spread to determine appropriate actions to control outbreaks. Case surveillance occurs each time public health agencies at the local, state, or national levels collect information about a case—a person diagnosed with a disease or condition—to help prevent serious health threats to Americans. During the COVID-19 response, CDC needed to quickly share technical resources with jurisdictions to help them with the complex task of modernizing their case surveillance systems. At the same time, CDC also needed to use plain language to explain the importance of complex case surveillance data and data systems to decision makers and the public.
A multidisciplinary team from the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS) and its Division of Health Informatics and Surveillance (DHIS) took on a year-long project to modernize the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) communication strategy. The project provided jurisdiction health departments with important resources to advance data modernization; increased understanding of how CDC collects, shares, and uses case surveillance; and showed the value of case surveillance data to our nation's health.
Actions taken
Project goals included:
- Streamlining web content and improving navigation.
- Ensuring that messaging resonated with audiences.
- Increasing visibility and user experience of websites
- Using innovative technology to improve site performance and updates.
- Featuring case surveillance data in success stories, social media, and national media.
The team focused its messaging to the needs of each audience, redesigned its digital strategy and technology, and conducted national media outreach.
Specific actions included the following:
- Implementing a modern web presence for NNDSS that receives hundreds of thousands of page views by tens of thousands of visitors per month.
- Using audience insights to understand what people need to know when visiting the NNDSS website.
- Performing a search engine optimization analysis (how people find the site from search engines) to make the site more visible in search rankings.
- Executing a content audit to identify content to revise or remove.
- Analyzing messaging for plain language using the CDC Clear Communication Index and readability tools.
- Evaluating the structure of the NNDSS website and applied new technologies to improve site users' experience and make managing the website more efficient.
- Accelerating web content publishing using the latest web publishing technologies to give CDC experts direct control over content edits.
- Improving accessibility of web content for people with disabilities using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines international standard and CDC accessibility guidelines.
- Redesigning and rebranding the NNDSS newsletter into Case Surveillance News to focus on new information that readers need and drive them to website content.
- Developing an innovative, interactive, online map to show the status of jurisdictions piloting, onboarding, or in production for sending data about specific diseases to NNDSS.
- Creating success stories showing the value of case surveillance data using a "bite, snack, meal" format so leadership, policy, and communication staff could easily use various content sizes for specific audiences.
- Conducting media outreach about case surveillance data for the COVID-19 response and how case surveillance supports the CDC Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) in high-profile media outlets.
- Collaborating with partners such as the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the Association of Public Health Laboratories to reach NNDSS audiences through social media.
- Featuring case surveillance data on CDC's COVID Data Tracker, a one-stop-shop for CDC's COVID-19 data.
Outcome
Despite also working on the COVID-19 response, the team redesigned all NNDSS communication content and digital spaces and launched a new NNDSS website in April 2021. Impacts include:
- A 104% increase in home page views and 74% increase in unique visitors to the home page when comparing 2021 and 2020.
- Increased key web metrics for the NNDSS eSHARE webpage, a critical monthly webinar series that educates public health jurisdictions on the latest NNDSS developments. When comparing 2020 and 2021, page views increased 240%, unique visitors increased 195%, and number of downloads increased 71%.
- Increased key web metrics for the NNDSS message mapping guide webpage, which provides critical technical tools, resources, and guidance to jurisdictions sending case surveillance data to CDC. When comparing 2020 and 2021, page views increased 80% and unique visitors increased 47%.
- Increased key web metrics for the rebranded Case Surveillance News Total number of clicks to links in the newsletter increased 92% and average open rate increased 10% to achieve an open rate of 34%, an industry top-tier score.
- Retired obsolete web technology, as well as additional savings from more efficient use of staffing resources.
- Streamlined website issue tracking and processes for updating complex case definitions, resulting in more efficient use of web staffing resources.
- Improved several critical areas of CDC Digital First web best practices, including content readability, intuitive navigation, consistent design, web accessibility, and search engine optimization.
- Launched a diverse group of stories highlighting the value of case surveillance data to public health.
The multidisciplinary team systematically reviewed all agency case surveillance communication products, digital space, and technology. The team incorporated best practices in communication science and applied modern technologies for website design. The new website appealed to high-level policy and decision makers while improving navigation for technical users, who rely on it for disease surveillance. The rebranded NNDSS newsletter highlighted a wide range of case surveillance content with a streamlined layout and interactive features.
The new case surveillance communication content and website were essential for DHIS, CSELS, and COVID-19 response leadership in promoting the importance of these data. Media interviews publicized critical public health messages and brought national attention to NNDSS. The project enhanced the national communication strategy, advanced CDC DMI goals, and showed case surveillance's value to the public.
Learn more about how CDC is providing public health departments and partners with the tools and resources they need to develop and implement the next generation of public health data systems.