Summary of FY26 Senate Appropriations Bill
Read a detailed summary of the FY26 Senate Appropriations Bill, which was released on July 31.
Read a detailed summary of the FY26 Senate Appropriations Bill, which was released on July 31.
The Senate released its version of the FY25 LHHS appropriation bill on August 1, 2024, with significant changes in proposed public health funding than the House's proposed bill.
ASTHO Legislative Prospectus | Previewing 2025 state legislative actions on data modernization and privacy.
ASTHO’s legislative prospectus on Immunization Information Systems, Health Information Exchanges, and balancing data privacy with sharing
ASTHO Legislative Prospectus | Previewing 2024 state legislative actions on data modernization and privacy.
Learn about the importance of exploring intermediaries that work alongside existing data platforms in addressing ongoing public health challenges.
Learn about the Vermont Department of Health's efforts to prioritize data modernization initiatives through its Data Modernization Advisory Committee.
Discover how improving public health data infrastructure can create more robust care for people with disabilities in this blog post.
Learn about the importance of immunization information systems to public health in this Health Policy Update.
Learn about Pima County's journey to advance data modernization efforts through an elevated partnership with County IT.
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.
Six DELPH scholars give their insights to learn more about how the data modernization initiative and DEI intersect with public health.
As AI adoption grows in public health, understanding its uses and ensuring responsible application are key to protecting privacy, minimizing bias, and improving outcomes.
As the overdose epidemic continues, it is imperative for the medicolegal death investigative community to understand the importance of continuous training and the role that accurate death certification plays in protecting the nation’s health.
We can prepare for the future of health equity and data by ensuring the equitable collection of data and building systems that are flexible enough to account for forward progress.
As in any sector, there is often talk in the public health field of “working upstream,” or addressing problems at their source. If public health is going to be a changemaker in the world, its leaders must be equal parts nimble and innovative.