Data to action: using environmental public health tracking to inform decision making

Area of Science:

• Environmental Public Health
• Public Health Surveillance
• Health Data Integration

Background:

• Public health surveillance is crucial for disseminating data to inform disease prevention and control actions.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) emphasizes a data-to-action approach.
• The CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network) integrates health and environmental data to support public health action (PHA).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness and utility of the Tracking Program and Tracking Network in environmental public health practice.
• To assess the role of the Tracking Program and Network in informing environmental public health policy making.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of public health actions (PHAs) driven by Tracking Program grantees (states, cities) funded between 2005 and 2013.
• Categorization of 178 reported PHAs to understand grantee involvement, roles, problems addressed, and actions taken.
• Case studies were used to illustrate the practical utility of the Tracking Program and Network.

Main Results:

• Tracking grantees reported 178 PHAs, with common actions including providing information and improving public health programs or response plans.
• The Tracking Program's primary roles were enhancing surveillance (24%) and data analysis (23%).
• Concerns about health outcomes, exposures, or hazard-health associations initiated 47% of PHAs, often driven by requests for assistance or routine program work.

Conclusions:

• The data, expertise, and infrastructure of the Tracking Program and Network are instrumental in driving state and local public health actions.
• The findings demonstrate the value of integrated environmental health data for improving public health practice and policy.