Adapting IBIS-PH for a State Environmental Public Health Tracking Portal

As a participant in CDC's national Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Network, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services had the need to display relevant public health and environmental indicators and to permit queries of public health data by the public through a state web portal. The department was also exploring opportunities to upgrade its existing web-based data query system, and chose to adapt Utah's Information-based Information System for Public Health (IBIS-PH) as the solution. IBIS-PH was developed for these purposes, and was also designed for sharing with other state health departments.

Working in cooperation with IBIS-PH developers and administrators in Utah, the New Jersey EPHT program assembled a team of content and information technology specialists to adapt IBIS-PH for New Jersey. The IBIS-PH application was successfully customized and integrated into the state's three-tiered IT infrastructure, and is called the State Health Assessment Data (SHAD) system. New Jersey-specific content relevant to EPHT was developed for public display. By the end of 2009, there will be nine distinct EPHT content areas (including measures of environmental hazards, human exposure to chemicals, and health outcomes related to the environment), sixty public health indicators, and over 160 graphical views in SHAD. Because IBIS-PH allows for role-based access to system administrative functions, which permits distributed responsibility for maintenance of data and public health messaging, SHAD is expanding to provide a data display resource for the department that extends far beyond its initial EPHT application.

Other states are also adapting IBIS-PH for use as the EPHT portal. There is a growing community of practice for sharing new software developments among users. IBIS-PH software is an adaptable, cost-effective and feature-rich system for states that want to become part of the national EPHT Network.