Developing New Content for a Collaborative Environmental Public Health Surveillance System

BACKGROUND:   Understanding how exposure to environmental hazards affects our health is critical to identifying causes of disease and to implementing appropriate response and prevention. The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, developed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), facilitates the analysis of environmental and health outcome data through a national network which integrates standardized data from state and local environmental hazard, human exposure and health effects surveillance.  This network provides valid scientific information on a web-based public portal to explore spatial and temporal relations between these factors.  To maintain relevancy, new content areas are regularly implemented and expanded, based on established criteria.

METHODS:   The iterative process incorporates recommendations from the Content Workgroup consisting of state grantees, CDC, and other health and environmental agencies that collaborate to propose content for Nationally Consistent Data Measures; standardized data made available on all Tracking Network portals.  Another method is through a content proposal by the program, grantees, or other agencies that is reviewed by the Science Development Team for relevance as an environmental health issue.  The proposal substantiates the scientific validity, relevancy and priority for addition to the network and must address data availability, accessibility, quality, and utility.  Proposals evaluate what is known about the health outcome and environmental hazards, the risks, and the most appropriate message to increase understanding.  Once evaluated and approved, content is added according to a sequence of steps.

RESULTS:   New content confirmation results in the creation of indicators, measures, and data standards to ensure compatibility with and consistency across the Tracking Network.  Any new system requirements are developed to facilitate portal utility and enhance functionality.  Data requests are made to grantees or to national sources following establishment of a data sharing agreement.  Once received, the standardized data are validated and reviewed before being released on the public portal.  Recent additions include outdoor air quality, heat-related health events, and biomonitoring.

CONCLUSIONS:   The publicly accessible Environmental Health Tracking portal allows access to data for educational to policymaking purposes.  An information system that incorporates environmental and health outcome data enhances the ability to examine and monitor relationships among hazards, exposures and health consequences. Tracking Networks have resulted in improved public health endeavours to mitigate and prevent environment-related diseases yet still have abundant possibilities for expansion. Future directions include identifying knowledge gaps, developing new data sources and collaborators (e.g., radon data and the Environmental Protection Agency), and improving utility of Tracking Networks.