World Alliance for Risk Factor Surveillance (WARFS) 2015

(St. John’s, Antigua) – The World Alliance for Risk Factor Surveillance holds Global Conferences to discuss theoretical and practical aspects of risk factor surveillance. WARFS supports the development of risk factor surveillance (RFS) as a tool for evidence-based public health, acknowledging the importance of this information source to inform, monitor and evaluate disease prevention and health promotion policies, services and  interventions.

This year’s theme will be ‘Risk factor surveillance in the 21st century – Consolidating the past – looking into the future’ with the following issues being explored:

• The role of big data and risk factor surveillance – ethical concerns, technical issues.
• Is the traditional epidemiological view of surveillance valid in the 21st century?
• Are we caught in traditional thinking; the role of positive health?
• How can NCD surveillance assist in major communicable disease outbreaks?
• Inequity in capacity – how to enhance capacity in developing countries.

Global Pulse’s Chief of Research Miguel Luengo Oroz will speak at the event, sharing some of Global Pulse’s findings in big data for disease surveillance research.

For more information visit the 9th Annual World Alliance for Risk Factor Surveillance conference (WARFS) website