This presentation will highlight a two-year process to develop the Albuquerque and Bernalillo County Environmental Health Report Card. Using the Protocol for Assessing Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE-EH) document as a guide, an Advisory Committee consisting of local environmental health and public health experts developed the Report Card to inform community members and decision-makers of environmental conditions and trends. This presentation will outline the multi-jurisdictional, collaborative process emphasizing findings, methodology, recommendations and the importance of input from a diverse Advisory Committee. The presentation will also demonstrate the importance of sharing critical and relevant environmental health knowledge with the community to enhance its involvement in environmental issues and to build community and political action. Finally, the presentation will cover the need for comprehensive, linked environmental and public health outcome data.
The Advisory Committee developed and conducted a community environmental health inventory to identify the community’s environmental health issues. Results of the survey guided the Committee in its selection of six environmental health issues to be included in the Report Card. Outdoor air and drinking water quality ranked highest among the identified concerns along with surface water, municipal solid waste, vector control, and food safety. In addition, committee members determined appropriate indicators and environmental health data to capture the status of those selected environmental health issues. The Report Card serves as a measurement tool for the community's environmental health status, and has been instrumental in developing priorities and benchmarks, and addressing environmental health data needs in Bernalillo County.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Keywords: Community Education, Environmental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.