Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
14.5 Message Attributes
One method of creating a CAP profile is to identify a set of high-level mes-
sage attributes to support semantic compatibility across systems. These
attributes are then mapped to CAP sub-elements, followed by specification
of values and usage conventions. Along these lines, the RTBP initiative has
adapted the CDC PHIN PCA approach (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention 2008) and identified a set of standardized message attributes for
health alerting. In this case, these efforts have been done to support notifi-
cation for a real-time biosurveillance program. These attributes provide a
framework for shared vocabulary, predictable system response, and, more
broadly, for identifying policy and procedural issues of interest for the
research project.
Each RTBP alert message entering the message distribution subsystem
must include the following nine attributes:
•
Identity of the agency that issued the alert {
{agencyIdentifier}
}
•
Message identifier for tracking purposes {
alertIdentifier}
}
Time and date that the message was sent from the issuing agency
•
{
sendTime
}
Indication of whether it is an actual alert, exercise or test {
•
status
}
Indication of whether it is an original alert, update, or cancellation of
•
a previous alert {
m sgTy p e
}
Indication of the scope of distribution for the alert (i.e., public,
•
restricted, or private) {
scope
}
The priority of the message (i.e., urgent, high, or low) {
•
priority
}
•
Indication of the event or incident type {
event
}
•
Contents of the alert message {
message
}
14.5.1 Message attribute {
agencyIdentifier
}
Each message must include a unique identifier for the agency that issued
the alert. PHIN PCA Guide v1.0 refers to an Object Identifier (OID) of the
originating agency and the future creation of an OID and ebXML (Electronic
Business using eXtensible Markup Language) registry for PHIN. CAP v1.1
specifies this attribute as a required sub-element within the alert block as
<
alert.sender
>. CAP v1.1 further specifies that it must identify “the originator
of this alert. Guaranteed by assigner to be unique globally; e.g., may be based
on an Internet domain name” and “MUST NOT include spaces, commas or
restricted characters (< and &).”
