The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #61260

Megan K. Ellingson, MHA¹, Megan Curran², Sue Gunderson², Johanna Miller³, and David Rak, MPH⁴. (1) Department of Health and Family Support, City of Minneapolis, 250 South 4th Street, Room 510, Minneapolis, MN 55415, (2) Sustainable Resources Center, 1916 2nd Aveune South, Minneapolis, MN 55411, 612-872-3282, m.curran@src-mn.org, (3) Children's Environmental Health, City of Minneapolis, 250 South 4th Street, Room 410, Minneapolis, MN 55415, (4) Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support, 250 South 4th Street, Room 510, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1384

The City of Minneapolis aims to be lead-safe by 2010. A major component of reaching this goal is dramatically increasing the blood lead testing rate of Minneapolis children under age six from its 2000 rate of 19%. The Minnesota Department of Health recommends that all Minneapolis children under age six be tested for lead. The City of Minneapolis, and its varied partners, cooperatively undertook a broad range of interventions to increase testing rates: (1) making increasing lead testing--along with housing interventions, policy change, resource development, and public education--a major component of the City’s Lead Hazard Reduction Network’s movement toward a prevention model; (2) convening a Lead Testing Task Force, made-up of public health, community health, and managed care organizations, to discuss and plan blood lead testing intervention strategies; (3) working with state legislators and the Minnesota Department of Human Services to withhold funds from managed care plans that do not reach testing goals for their Medicaid-enrolled children; (4) working with managed care plans on their provider outreach efforts, including sharing maps indicating lead poisoning cases, and information about resources available to families with lead-poisoned children; (5) developing a community-based lead testing program where children are tested in various community settings; and (6) taking part in a federal e-government project to document and share best practices on increasing testing, and improve laboratory reporting of blood lead test results.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: describe how a comprehensive childhood lead testing strategy can be implemented in an urban area, develop effective collaborations and partnerships to increase childhood lead testing, and construct a multi-faceted plan to increase childhood lead testing rates.

Keywords: Lead, Advocacy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.