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BACKGROUND: Since 2000, the National Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Program has worked to improve environmental health surveillance among state health and environmental departments by enhancing the visualization of environmental and health data. Simultaneous display of lung cancer incidence, smoking prevalence, and radon was one of seven topic areas selected in the spring of 2013 as a national EPHT priority project. Since these datasets are collected by different governmental programs, historically there has been little inter- and intra-agency collaboration in the presentation of these datasets.
METHODS: Starting in May 2013, eight states (Colorado, Kansas, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington) and CDC began holding monthly teleconferences/webinars to discuss state-based solutions to make lung cancer, radon potential, and smoking rates publically available at geographic scales below county-level. Visualization products were targeted for Radon Awareness Month, January 2014, so that health and environmental agencies could better target radon testing outreach activities. Webinars progressed from states initially outlining their available datasets, to demonstrating state-specific enhanced dataset visualization and simultaneous presentation, and to sharing new outreach, messaging, and activities for Radon Awareness Month. The partnership expanded to include state EPHT staff and partners, radon program staff, and state geologists.
RESULTS: Team members enhanced their state’s public websites to better visualize lung cancer incidence, smoking prevalence, and radon potential. Team members created improved analyses and displays of radon testing, radon geology, and composite radon potential. CDC Tracking staff worked with states to create new infographics on radon, smoking, and lung cancer, and created Facebook and Twitter messages encouraging radon testing. Before and after activities and maps created by New Jersey, Colorado, and Vermont for the three topic areas will be presented.
CONCLUSIONS: State-to-state collaboration on public health data enhancement activities is a reliable and cost effective way to improve data analyses and visualization. States differ in their data and technology availability, but are open to improvement through the adoption of successful methods and solutions created by other states.