Building a Searchable Database of Infectious Disease Resources
The ask: Concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Worker Training Program to request a database for storing resources on worker safety and infectious diseases.
The solution: Since 2000, MDB has operated the Worker Training Program’s National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety and Health Training, a vast archive of information on hazardous waste management and safety. For the new request, MDB created a searchable database within the Clearinghouse, called the Material Upload and Search Tool for Infectious Disease (MUSTID).
More than 500 infectious disease resources are now available through MUSTID to Worker Training Program staff, grant administrators, trainers, and the public. The breadth of MUSTID resources continues to grow as Worker Training Program grant administrators and trainers share resources to be uploaded. Resources are curated and tagged with keywords to enhance searchability.
Notable outcomes: MUSTID was initially launched in June 2020 as an internal tool for WTP and housed within the program’s internal Data Management System. In October 2021, the MUSTID public portal was launched to provide accessibility to anyone interested in infectious diseases and worker health and safety.
Many of the MUSTID resources focus on the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, as well as other coronaviruses (e.g., the MERS and SARS viruses), but the database is growing to include information related to influenza, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases.
Resources include clinical and operational guidelines, regulations, checklists, FAQs, training materials, and peer-reviewed articles that explain the science behind guidance documents.
