Two reports explore opportunities for improved public health action through immunization data sharing with health information exchanges, in addition to the broader legal landscape of public health data.
The Suicide, Overdose, Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Capacity Assessment Tool (SPACECAT) compiled a national report and accompanying infographic, that break down the biggest findings from the data, and highlight the biggest barriers facing health agencies today.
This report analyzes the results from a survey of state and territorial health agency staff to collect information regarding health agency efforts to address climate change and extreme weather.
Social determinants of healthcare are the conditions in which people are born, live, work, play, worship, and age. Read how these issues affect population health.
This report highlights key tools, resources, takeaways, and improvement strategies that health agencies can leverage to help navigate complex awards, increase efficiencies, and improve business processes.
This report shares results and key takeaways from interviews on topics including the overall structure of Legionnaires’ disease programs, diagnosis and clinical testing protocols, and risk communication.
Initial estimates from 2020 suggest that annual drug overdose deaths in the United States reached a record high of 93,000. Fortunately EMS strategies are being put in place to combat this nation-wide issue.
ASTHO’s guidebook, Leading Public Health Practice Through Health Informatics and Technology, provides additional information on achieving bidirectional data exchange and preparing for electronic case reporting adoption and implementation.
This report highlights how a six-state "payers cohort," through the ASTHO/CDC Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Learning Collaborative, convened cross-sector teams which included payer partners, local health agency staff, academic institutions, community health workers, and other state‐ or local‐level stakeholders to support efforts to improve cardiovascular health outcomes, focusing on blood pressure control and reducing healthcare costs.
ASTHO Profile data shows how public health agencies are adopting AI, revealing policy gaps, workforce challenges, and uneven use across states.
Technical assistance for procuring software to support data dashboard development.
Sustaining DMI: Conditions for Enhanced Funding How state Medicaid agencies can receive enhanced federal funding for certain expenditures. What are the Conditions for Enhanced Funding? Why are they important? The Conditions for Enhanced Funding (CEF) are a series of federal requirements that states must meet to receive federal financial participation. If a state Medicaid agency (SMA) meets the CEF and couples them with measurable outcomes and metrics that improve the Medicaid program, it can receive enhanced funding at the rate of 90% to design, develop, or implement a Medicaid Enterprise Systems (MES) module or at 75% to operate and maintain an MES module. Each state operates an MES to manage its Medicaid data and run its program. Increasingly, SMAs’ MES are composed of independent modules in categories such as eligibility and enrollment and financial management. An SMA that uses these funds can build a strong financial foundation for a data modernization initiative and can secure reliable funding to better sustain the initiative. How can states receive enhancing funding to design, develop, implement, or operate and maintain an MES module? To receive enhanced federal funding, SMAs must collaborate with the federal government from the original implementation of their MES module and throughout its operations and maintenance. Frequently, SMAs begin the MES development journey through a request for planning funds. Planning activities include assessing impact, conducting a Medicaid Information Technology Architecture self-assessment, convening work groups to identify potential system enhancements, and exploring outcomes and metrics. These plans often are converted into requests for design, development, and implementation funding. The 90% funding match for design, development, and implementation could cover the performance of system fixes, establishing connectivity and interfaces, developing business continuity plans, software leasing, configuring off-the-shelf software, and ongoing planning activities. To receive the 75% funding match for operation and maintenance of an MES module, the state must have its module certified by and continuously report operational metrics to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). After certification, the SMA can receive enhanced federal funding to support security updates, software leasing or licensing, portal and technology maintenance and operation, and training for personnel engaged in the operation of the MES. Although these eligible activities are diverse, states should ultimately meet seven conditions for enhanced funding (Table 1): Modularity Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) Industry standards Technology reuse and sharing Business processes Reports Interoperability Table - Resource - Sustaining DMI: Conditions for Enhanced Funding What best practices should states consider when seeking enhanced funding? If an SMA meets the CEF and couples them with measurable outcomes that improve the Medicaid program, it can receive enhanced funding. Public health data modernization initiatives and their ongoing support may be eligible for enhanced federal funding through the Medicaid program. Best practices include: Start the Streamlined Modular Certification early. Certification is a crucial piece of CEF and requires many interrelated activities. States should use the intake form to enter information about MES certification and CMS-required outcomes to develop documentation of their compliance with regulations applicable to their Medicaid-based data modernization initiative, state-specific outcomes, and metrics. The intake form can be used to show that the project is achieving outcomes on a continuous basis. Become familiar with CEF best practices. CMS highlights several best practices for successfully engaging with CEF. States should become familiar with this guidance to help them complete various required forms and documentation, understand connected activities, create realistic timelines, prevent duplication of work, identify efficiencies, and more. Identify outcomes that are feasible to achieve and measure and improve the Medicaid and public health programs. Some outcomes can take years to appear and intensive research and resources to measure. A state should identify outcomes that are feasible to achieve and measure based on its Medicaid-based data modernization initiative, available resources, staff capacity, and other factors. This includes setting measure targets that, when reached in the designated time, collectively provide proof that there is progress toward achieving Medicaid and public health outcomes. website yes
This report shares Puerto Rico’s strategy and recommendations for developing a social determinants of health dashboard.
What I Wish I Knew Before Linking Data ASTHO, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, linking data, data linkage, family and child health, public health, data linkage research, public health agencies, north Carolina, children's data network, child welfare indicators, california health and human services, child welfare, child welfare policy, maternal and child health, alaska division of public health, analytics and epidemiology, data analysis, applied surveillance, data systems, child protection, birth data, vital records, medicaid data, record registries, child advocacy, data pieces, connecting records, data sources, medical histories 45:57 Data linkage experts share insights and recommendations for leveraging data linkage projects to explore and make an impact on public health issues. PH Conversations Series - What I Wish I Knew Before Linking Data This episode features a conversation between two data linkage experts—Jared Parrish, PhD, MS, and Emily Putnam-Hornstein, PhD—highlighting their lessons learned and sharing recommendations for those seeking to use data linkage projects to examine key public health issues, such as: The thought process behind choosing which datasets to link, which linkage tools and methods to use, and how to bring intentionality to these choices when considering a research question. The benefits of using data linkage to enhance datasets and build a comprehensive and robust collection of information for new insights. Lessons learned for navigating data linkages with important considerations for preparation, analysis, and the uses of data linkage. Show Notes Interviewer Stephany Strahle, MPH, Maternal and Child Health Contractor, ASTHO Guests Jared Parrish, PhD, Senior Epidemiologist, State of Alaska, DHSS, Division of Public Health Emily Putnam-Hornstein, PhD, Distinguished Professor for Children in Need, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill <!-- Resources Braiding and Layering Funding to Address the Social Determinants of Health --> PHC Podcast Transcript - What I Wish I Knew Before Linking Data website yes
Although suicide was a critical public health issue in the U.S. long before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Americans are now reporting increased mental health challenges like depression, anxiety, and suicidal behaviors. In addition, millions have experienced financial hardships, social isolation and loneliness, and increased stress—all of which are shared risk factors for mental health conditions, suicidal behaviors, and substance misuse. State public health officials have taken bold action over the past 12 months to mitigate the physical impacts of COVID-19, and the same swift action should be applied to mitigate the acute and potential long-term mental health, suicide, and substance use impacts. The National Response’s "An Action Plan for Strengthening Mental Health and Prevention of Suicide in the Aftermath of COVID-19" provides a roadmap for addressing the mental health, suicide prevention, and substance misuse prevention needs spurred by COVID-19.
Following disruptions to daily life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency departments saw an increase of mental health-related visits. A June 2021 study showed a significant increase of mental health-related visits among 12–17-year-olds compared to the previous year. States and territories that implement a comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention across all domains of life—an approach known as the socio-ecological model—can reduce contributing risk factors.
Though COVID-19 has dominated public health over the past year, other communicable diseases are still occurring at troubling rates. The CDC recently released data in their Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2019 report, showing that the reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis continued to increase for the sixth consecutive year and are among the most reported diseases in the United States. As STD Awareness Month comes to a close, below is a breakdown of key takeaways from CDC’s surveillance report and tips for how state health officials can address rising STD rates through leadership, communications, and policy.
This June marked the 40-year anniversary of the first five cases of what later became known as AIDS reported in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Since then, more than 32 million people have died from the disease worldwide and nearly 38 million currently live with the HIV virus (including 1.2 million people in the United States). Over that period, tremendous strides have been made in HIV testing, prevention strategies, and treatment of individuals living with the virus to ensure that they can lead healthier and longer lives. While these advancements have led to significant progress in reducing HIV/AIDS-related deaths and new infection rates, HIV/AIDS continues to be a persistent problem in the United States. The federal government and state legislatures are taking significant steps toward ending the HIV epidemic, including steps to reduce new infections, combating stigma, and advancing access to care and HIV prevention
As a truly historic year comes to an end, many public health policy issues received a considerable amount of attention in 2020. Subjects such as the pandemic that will live on in infamy, racial health disparities, and the future of the Affordable Care Act, are just a few of the major health issues that took center stage on Capitol Hill this year.
Get insight into the successes and challenges of integrating race/ethnicity data in public health and future directions in this field.