Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104123

Rebecca A. R. Anderson, RN, BS, College of Nursing, University of Utah, 2661 Hiawatha Circle, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, 801 230 0013, rebeccaanderson@utah.gov

Newborn dried blood spot (NBS) screening represents the largest application of genetic testing in healthcare. As new technologies are developed, the number of genetic conditions detectable will continue to expand. Consequently, as states address requirements for consistency and as recommendations for disorders to be screened are dispersed, it becomes requisite for an evidence-based process to inform policy decisions. The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) has developed and tested a systematic process for policy development related to population based genetic screening programs. The state of Utah screens for four conditions. To prepare for escalating pressure to add conditions, the UDOH Newborn Screening Advisory Committee was charged with recommending conditions to include in this public health genetic screening program. From international and national evidence, federal recommendations and expert consultation the independent committee developed criteria and used those criteria to translate science into policy recommendations for conditions to be included in the Utah NBS program. In turn, the Genetics Advisory Committee, appointed by the UDOH Executive Director, recommended the expansion of the NBS program to the UDOH Executive Director's Office, including the requisite that expanded screening should be treated as a public health priority requiring the standard public health follow-up and assurance of service that is presently provided by the Utah NBS Program. This presentation's focus is the process rather then the recommendations; examines the use of evidence in policy development for expanded NBS/genetic screening, and the integration of the private sector into state policy guidance with the use of advisory committees.

Learning Objectives:

• •Analyze the role of an advisory committee in guidance of state government policy.
• •Describe the process of developing criteria for evidence based recommendations and policies.
• •Discuss how to replicate the process in other states and for other population based screening programs.

Keywords: Policy/Policy Development, Neonatal Screening

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.