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Abstract #158289

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Burton Wilcke, PhD, University of Vermont, 302 Rowell Bldg, Burlington, VT 05405-0068, (802) 656-3811, burton.wilcke@uvm.edu, Stan L. Inhorn, MD, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, 465 Henry Mall, Madison, WI 53706, Vanessa A. White, MPH, Association of Public Health Laboratories, 8515 Georgia Ave, Siver Spring, MD 20910, and J Rex. Astles, PhD, Division of Laboratory Systems, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Although public health laboratories and the information they generate are essential for public health decision making, there has not been an objective to regularly measure public health laboratory infrastructure until Healthy People 2010. Objective 23-13 calls for the increase of “comprehensive laboratory services to support essential public health services.” When this objective was first advanced, there were no identifiable data sources that could be used to measure comprehensive laboratory services. The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed a comprehensive laboratory services survey (CLSS). This survey was based on the premise that comprehensive laboratory services could be measured by assessing the extent to which states fulfilled the core functions for state public health laboratories (MMWR 51:1-8, 2002). The CLSS was first conducted in 2004.As a result of having a data source and creating a baseline for this objective it went from being a developmental objective to a measurable objective. The second version of the CLSS was created in 2006. This second version was improved by: better defining terms; clearly distinguishing whether states were “providing” versus “assuring” services; more equitably balancing the survey among the core functions. With completion of the second version of the CLSS, there are now data that can be used to better track the status of “comprehensive laboratory services to support essential public health services.” Comparison of the findings from the 2004 and 2006 surveys and progress on reaching the 2010 targets will be presented.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Recognize the need for laboratory services in support of essential public health services.
• 2.Identify the core functions for state public health laboratories.
• 3.Describe the current status of comprehensive laboratory services in support of public health services.
• 4.List the challenges remaining to reach the HP 2010 laboratory targets.

Keywords: Infrastructure, Healthy People 2000/2010

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Slides (pdf) or Handout