CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY

Infectious Disease

Keystone convenes decision-makers and thought leaders from government, communities, medicine and health care, industry, and patient advocacy to develop efficacious strategies for combating the spread of infectious disease. Approaches range from guiding policy makers to preparing communities. Deliberations must often frankly address the role of differing social values, as well as trade-offs between the needs of specific sub-populations and those of the larger national or global population.

Projects include:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – H1N1 Public Engagement (2009)
A fourteen-member Keystone Center team is designing and delivering a national public engagement project for the CDC to help the agency develop guidance for local, state, federal and private health organizations as they decide how to meet the challenge of the H1N1 virus in the fall and winter flu season of 2009/10. The team is managing ten public meetings, two web engagements and one stakeholder meeting that will bring more than 2000 members of the public and representatives of key stakeholders into dialogue with CDC staff and one another in the summer of 2009.
Final Report:	The Public Engagement Project on the H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Vaccination Program Final Report
Evaluation:	Evaluation of Novel H1N1 Vaccine Policy Public Engagement
Contact:	Mike Hughes

Vaccine Safety Stakeholder and Public Engagement (2008 - present)
Keystone is facilitating an effort to collect and synthesize stakeholder and public input on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s draft scientific research agenda regarding vaccine safety. This topic remains extremely controversial with the promise of preventing major diseases on one hand and the belief by some stakeholders that vaccines may lead to long-term debilitating injuries, including autism spectrum disorder.
Contact:	Janesse Brewer

Planning: Public Engagement – Nebraska & Minnesota (2008-2009)
Through an agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The Keystone Center provided process design, facilitation, meeting registration, electronic polling and logistical support for two of the CDC’s pandemic planning grantee states: Nebraska and Minnesota. Minnesota’s project focused on gathering input from the public on the goals for decision making and whether to and how to ration scarce treatment resources. The public meetings were part of a larger heath care ethics discussion. The results from these meetings will be reviewed by the Minnesota Center for Healthcare Ethics Stakeholder Group and used to inform the preliminary recommendations. Minnesota held two public meetings in Duluth and Owatonna. The Nebraska project worked with the Winnebago and Ponca tribes and Chadron and Indian Health Center tribal organizations in order to gather community input on whether to and how to modify tribal cultural events during a pandemic. CDC provided a white paper to guide states on the principles of consequential public engagement – White Paper on Principles of Consequential Public Engagement.
External website:	http://www.ahc.umn.edu/mnpanflu/home.html - MN Ethics Project
Contact:	Jody Erikson

New York State Public Health Public Engagements (2007 - 2008)
The Keystone Center designed and facilitated a set of four public meetings, which occurred simultaneously at locations throughout the state of New York. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) collaborated with Keystone and other partners, including local health departments and the University at Albany’s Center for Public Health Preparedness, in hosting these public engagement efforts. Participants were drawn from at-risk/vulnerable populations such as the elderly, individuals with disabilities or mental health issues, tribal nations, minority New Yorkers and vulnerable children, with the goal of education, fostering collaboration, and sharing perspectives regarding community preparation for a pandemic outbreak. State and community health officials synthesized – with Keystone’s assistance – critical information regarding the relevant knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of resident at-risk populations, thereby enabling improvements to state and local emergency preparedness plans.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 to order report.
Contact:	Janesse Brewer

Pandemic Influenza and At-Risk Populations: Public Engagement Meetings (2007 - 2008)
Through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), Keystone worked with state, local, and territorial health agencies, federal entities, and other key stakeholders to develop model planning guidance on at-risk populations and pandemic influenza. The goal was to develop sound, evidence-based guidance on planning for at-risk populations during an influenza pandemic. The initiative included two community engagement meetings and a national stakeholder meeting. Participants were educated through presentations by public health officers on pandemic influenza and what may occur during a pandemic outbreak. Through facilitated discussion, participants then developed recommendations for meeting the needs of various at-risk populations, to be considered by policy-makers in developing plans for mitigation and response.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 to order report.
Contact:	Janesse Brewer

Travelers' Health (2007)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) invited experts in travelers’ health to a set of deliberations in Atlanta to discuss the implications of changes in travel patterns, traveler behavior and travel health. The initiative provided CDC with new perspectives on relevant emerging trends, and identified opportunities for the agency to help address the issue given its mission and role.
Contact:	Mike Hughes

Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Prioritization: Public Engagement Meetings (2006 - 2007)
Keystone designed and facilitated a series of public meetings (both community engagements and national stakeholder gatherings) to help the federal government understand the public’s values and preferences regarding prioritization among population groups in the event of pandemic influenza. The synthesized public input was presented to federal advisory boards for consideration as they developed guidance on national treatment prioritization in the event of a pandemic. The final draft guidance has been disseminated and vetted widely throughout federal agencies and the private sector. The initiative was sponsored by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as local state and county health departments. The initiative was sponsored by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as local state and county health departments.
Final report:	The final report is forthcoming.
External website:	http://www.webdialogues.net/cs/panflu-engage-home/view/di/104?x-t=home.view
Contact:	Janesse Brewer

The Public Engagement Project on Community Control Measures for Pandemic Influenza (2006)
This initiative was sponsored by The Keystone Center and Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). This project engaged citizens and stakeholders in discussions and deliberations about the tradeoffs associated with community control measures which might be implemented early on against pandemic influenza. To conduct this public engagement, the sponsors made use of the Policy Analysis CollaborativE (PACE), an innovative model for engaging both the organized stakeholder public made up of groups such as professional health societies, business groups, and education associations, and the general public made up of citizens-at-large. Engagement of both publics helped inform the development of a national strategy, and helped educate and build public support for CDC guidance to local and state public health departments for pandemic preparedness.
Final report:	The Public Engagement Project on Community Control Measures for Pandemic Influenza: Findings and Recommendations from Citizen and Stakeholder Deliberation Days
Contact:	Janesse Brewer

The Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza (PEPPPI) (2005)
The PEPPPI was initiated in July 2005 to discuss and rank goals for a pandemic influenza vaccination program and to pilot test a new model for engaging citizens on vaccine related policy decisions (The Vaccine Policy Analysis CollaborativE, VPACE). This model was developed earlier in 2003. PEPPPI was sponsored by a network of 14 public and private organizations throughout the United States (listed on the cover of the report).
Final report:	Citizen Voices on Pandemic Flu Choices: A Report of the Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza
Contact:	Janesse Brewer

Vaccine Policy Analysis Collaborative (VPACE) (2002 - 2003)
The Keystone Center facilitated a conference jointly sponsored by the Johnson Foundation in Wisconsin and the U.S. Public Health Service Agencies working through the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) to explore whether and how to enhance public engagement in government decision-making on vaccine policy issues. The resulting Wingspread Public Engagement Planning Group considered the recommendations of its Steering Committee and finalized its best judgment on how to enhance public engagement. The judgment is captured in the proposal to create The Vaccine Policy Analysis CollaborativE (VPACE), a three-year demonstration project designed to conduct dialogue and collaborative deliberations on selected vaccine issues with representative segments of the general public and stakeholder groups.
Final report	Final Summary Report and Proposal for the Vaccine Policy Analysis Collaborative (VPACE)
Contact:	Janesse Brewer

The Keystone National Policy Dialogue on Establishment of Studies to Optimize Medical Management of HIV Infection (1996)
This initiative – designed, convened and facilitated by Keystone – led to the creation of the forum for collaborative HIV research which focuses on identifying and researching critical unanswered questions surrounding new HIV drug therapies. Representatives from 40 public and private organizations who participated in the dialogue presented their recommendations to then-Vice President Al Gore.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #64.
Contact:	Brad Sperber

Keystone National Policy Dialogue on Expanded Access to Promising Therapeutic Drugs for HIV Infection and AIDS with Implications for Other Life Threatening Diseases (1993)
At the request of governmental agencies, pharmaceutical companies, congressional staff, researchers and public interest groups involved with the AIDS crisis, as well as advocates for other life-threatening diseases, Keystone initiated a dialogue to clarify issues and explore consensus on public policy approaches to the expedited development for – and expanded pre-approval access to – promising therapeutic drugs for AIDS. Key decision-makers, including those who actively participated in the project as well as others interested in the results, helped define the scope of the Dialogue, identify participants, and establish goals and objectives for this effort. The resulting recommendations encompassed research integrity, implications for clinical trials, access for uninsured patients, and effective communication and education.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #21.
Contact:	Brad Sperber

Keystone AIDS Vaccine Liability Project (1990)
The Keystone Center convened this dialogue in response to concerns that the U.S. product liability system served as an impediment to the development of a vaccine effective against AIDS. The participant group evaluated the nature and scale of the challenge and developed a consensus report offering guidance for policy-makers and other interested stakeholders.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #15.
Contact:	Brad Sperber