![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.png)
BACKGROUND: The Environmental Public Health Tracking (Tracking) state and national portals provide important data on environmental health measures, but often focus on topic specific reports instead of place-based snapshots. Many of these measures are available at the county and not sub-county level. In 2013, a national workgroup was formed to develop an environmental health data product that supports public health actions from local health officials at the sub-county level and answers the question, “What’s in My Community?” This workgroup included representatives from nine Tracking grantee cities/states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).
METHODS: From May through December 2013, the workgroup met at least monthly to coordinate profile development across states. The workgroup collected feedback from state and city health officials, community-based organizations, hospitals, and other stakeholders to inform the development of community snapshot reports. This assessment included stakeholders working within the participating city/state jurisdictions and representatives from non-Tracking states identified through NACCHO who have an interest in implementing Tracking-related activities.
RESULTS: Seven states (FL, LA, MD, MO, NJ, SC, WI) and New York City will release county and/or sub-county environmental health profile reports in the spring of 2014. The profile format and content recommendations from the workgroup were intentionally kept flexible, and was permitted to vary depending on state/city health department capacity. For example, some profile reports will be available at the sub-county level (i.e. zip code, census tract), while other reports are limited to the county level. The workgroup is currently developing guidance to assist other states and cities in developing community profile reports, including a summary of stakeholder recommendations and templates for communication and outreach.
CONCLUSIONS: The goal of this project was to combine environmental and related health measures into community-specific snapshots, building off of existing Tracking infrastructure. This workgroup aimed to meet an identified need for county and sub-county environmental health measures. The resulting community profile reports will be used by local health departments and health councils, city and county governments, and other stakeholders statewide to assess environmental health factors in their communities. The Florida EPHT Program will host these profile reports online at www.floridatracking.com and will update these reports on a regular basis, in collaboration with stakeholders and data stewards. Related content development for the CDC EPHT data portal is ongoing.