Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Jill Litt, PhD¹, Andrea Wismann¹, Beth Resnick, MPH², Rebecca Smullin³, Mary Hano, MPH⁴, and Thomas A. Burke, MPH, PhD⁵. (1) Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 4200 E. Ninth Avenue, C-245, Denver, CO 80262, 303-315-7595, jill.litt@uchsc.edu, (2) Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, (3) Environmental Health Policy, ASTHO, 1275 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005, (4) Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), 1275 K St NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005, (5) Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Room 484, Baltimore, MD 21205

Objectives: To understand how environmental public health tracking (EPHT) has progressed since the release of the 2000 Pew Environmental Health Commission's report, “America's Environmental Gap: Why the Country Needs a Nationwide Health Tracking Network”. The Pew report examined the nation's EPHT infrastructure and provided the groundwork for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's EPHT Program. Methods: A follow-up telephone survey with state practitioners was conducted to understand EPHT trends and how state-level capacity and activities have changed over the past five years. Results: This investigation has provided quantifiable measures of progress in implementing the Pew EPHT recommendations. New and enhanced federal–state partnerships, improved capacity for surveillance, data analysis and communication, and support for tracking personnel have provided a foundation for progress. The CDC support of EPHT has strengthened the national EPH infrastructure and capacity to track environmental hazards, exposures, and health. Discussion: Funding, data access and translation to prevention activities are critical to sustaining this EPHT progress and developing the evidence base for assessing the longer term impacts and efficacy of EPHT and related environmental health improvements.

Learning Objectives: Upon conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to

• Describe and evaluate changes in environmental health tracking capacity at the state level over the past five years
• Identify opportunities for further enhancements of tracking at the national, state and local levels
• Understand the public health implications of nationwide public health tracking efforts

Keywords: Surveillance, Environmental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation