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

Abstract #113326

Mary A. Fox, PhD, MPH¹, Thomas A. Burke, PhD, MPH¹, Beth A. Resnick, MPH¹, Frank C. Curriero, PhD², Francesca Dominici², Janet A. DiPietro, PhD³, and Norma Fox Kanarek, PhD⁴. (1) Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 N. Broadway, Room 455, Baltimore, MD 21205, 443-287-0778, mfox@jhsph.edu, (2) Department of Biostatistics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, (3) Population and Family Health Sciences, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, (4) Environmental Health Sciences, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205

The JHU Center for Excellence in EPHT funded four faculty fellowships to provide expertise in disciplines key to tracking. Fellows' research interests include spatial statistics, environmental epidemiology, cancer surveillance, and design and evaluation of developmental outcome measures. Faculty fellows are engaged with state partners to develop, refine, analyze, and display environmental public health tracking information. Technical assistance and methods transfer have taken the forms of consultations and training plans. For example, fellows have consulted with state partners on the appropriate interpretation of low birth weight as a developmental outcome, the application of time-series analysis to link air pollution and respiratory outcome data at zip code level within a state, and on the application of spatial statistics and geographic information systems for the analysis and display of tracking and linked data. Interest in appropriate spatial analysis and display are common to all tracking participants and will be built into a training module. New methods including a joint epidemiological and statistical approach to definition, investigation, and analysis of apparent local cancer excesses and a methodology to assess exposure-response relationships to identify whether thresholds exist for the effects of environmental hazards are under development and will be shared with the tracking network. We propose this multi-disciplinary approach as a model for academic-practice partnership for the tracking network. Engagement with partners and regular communication to identify technical assistance needs are essential to implementation of this model. This multi-disciplinary approach to academic-practice partnerships is key to the success of the EPHT.

Learning Objectives:

• List research and practice needs for environmental public health tracking
• Discuss alternative modes of technical assistance

Keywords: Surveillance, Environmental Health

Related Web page: www.jhsph.edu/EPHTcenter/index.html

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.