Displaying 1761-1780 of 2312 results for

When the COVID-19 pandemic began the need for greater access to virtual reproductive health care services increased dramatically. Telehealth increased access to providers, eased workflows and infection protection for clinical staff, and reduced interruptions in care for many patients.

Support from postpartum doulas can can increase parental self-efficacy and adherence to treatment for those experiencing SUD, leading to lower rates of postpartum depression and, subsequently, improved health outcomes.

About Public Health Data Modernization and Informatics Understanding Public Health Data Modernization & Informatics Understand public health data modernization work and its importance, plus ASTHO’s efforts to support agencies’ data modernization initiatives. Public health data and surveillance systems are essential to the nation’s public health infrastructure — in day-to-day operations as well as crucial moments that require detecting and responding to emerging health threats. ASTHO is dedicated to supporting its members and health agency staff in advancing crucial data modernization efforts, with comprehensive tools and customized guidance. What Is Data Modernization? Data modernization is an effort to improve public health data, technology, workforce capacity, and related processes and policies, with the end goal of having more timely and actionable insights. In public health, data modernization is a cross-cutting endeavor that supports all public health programs (e.g., environmental health, infectious disease, maternal and child health, etc.) — as safe and secure data collection, management, and sharing are critical to each area’s efforts. It is fundamental infrastructure work that supports an entire health department and connects to a much larger data ecosystem, enabling critical efforts across jurisdictions and sectors. Tabatha Offutt-Powell - Page - What Is DMI Why Is Data Modernization Important in Public Health? Data modernization is important in public health because it mobilizes faster and more complete, accurate data — getting it in the hands of the right people at the right time, from infectious disease specialists responding to an outbreak to chronic disease leaders designing data-driven interventions that promote healthier communities. These people, experts and decision-makers, can then take informed actions to protect the public’s health. When public health data systems are at their best, they can support both public health and health care. Instead of relying on fragmented views of a person or a population’s health (i.e., through different programmatic lenses or health care setting experiences), those on the receiving end of this crucial data can look at individuals and populations as a whole. The reality is that people experience all aspects of health and interface with health systems in many different ways — and when public health or health care professionals are able to connect relevant data from various sources, they can gain a more complete and accurate understanding of individual and population health, ultimately enabling better interventions. Elizabeth Ruebush - Page - What is DMI What Are the Key Components of Data Modernization That Enable Modern Data Platforms? The key components that make modern public health data systems possible include technology, people, policy (legal and organizational), and sustainability. Technology An important element is, of course, ensuring and leveraging robust, up-to-date technology. Leveraging modern technology allows agencies to move from manual to automated processes and minimizes the burden on public health and data partners. People While the technology is important, the people who manage and use these systems are just as crucial. More specifically, those with the training/skills needed to support data systems and engage with the technologies for faster, more actionable data. Policy and Process The policies and processes that guide data collection, management, sharing, and use are additional components of importance in data modernization, including: Legal policies that impact public health data reporting, surveillance, and sharing. Organizational policies and governance structures that relate to the internal standards, processes, and procedures for handling public health data. Sustainability Sustainability is also critical and involves securing ongoing resources — financial and otherwise — to ensure a health department can maintain a modern data infrastructure, rather than relying on isolated, one-time upgrades. How Does ASTHO Support Public Health Data Modernization? ASTHO has a dedicated Public Health Data Modernization and Informatics team that is committed to supporting state and territorial health agency leadership in their modernization efforts, enhancing data exchange capabilities, and supporting a sustainable and resilient public health data infrastructure. The team supports public health agencies on their data modernization journeys by: Bringing health agencies and private partners together through the Public Health Data Consortium — with an objective of enhancing the quality of and access to public health data used to inform population health decisions and understand long-term outcomes. Accelerating modern data exchange through cutting-edge health IT standards and offering direct technical implementation services through the Implementation Center Program. Managing the Informatics and Data Modernization Network, which facilitates peer-to-peer learning and information sharing about informatics and data modernization activities/opportunities among members. Bringing key thought leaders together through the Joint Public Health Informatics Task Force to have meaningful conversations about and align initiatives around data modernization. Identifying sustainable funding structures that help health departments accomplish a meaningful data exchange project or infrastructure advancement. Providing technical assistance and developing resources (e.g., tactical guides, issue briefs, robust toolkits) around data modernization and informatics. Conducting legislative tracking and policy assessments to explore legal and policy considerations influencing public health data and technology. Working to modernize public health infrastructure in your health agency? ASTHO’s Public Health Data Modernization and Informatics team would love to help. To get started, browse the team’s data modernization resources, and reach out for personalized support. Contact DMI Team article

ASTHO provides key support and resources as public health agencies undergo critical updates to their data and information systems.

Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response About The Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR) is a multidisciplinary collaboration of national associations and federal agencies working together since 2006 to improve methods to detect, investigate, control, and prevent foodborne disease outbreaks. Council member representatives include expertise in epidemiology, environmental health, public health laboratory activities, and food regulation at the local, state, and federal levels. According to CDC, foodborne illness affects one in six Americans annually. Of the estimated 48 million who get sick from a foodborne illness each year, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die. Many organizations work to reduce foodborne illness. Outbreak identification and investigation is a key area where multidisciplinary public health professionals must collaborate. CIFOR was created to develop and share guidelines, processes, and products that will facilitate effective foodborne outbreak response. Products CIFOR has contributed to the development of a variety of products to assist with responding to foodborne disease outbreaks. Recent products include the CIFOR 3rd Edition Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response and its companion toolkit that contains a series of worksheets and model program activities. The CIFOR Toolkit helps state and local health departments understand the contents of the Guidelines, furthers their ability to conduct self-assessments of their outbreak detection and investigation procedures, and facilitates implementation of appropriate recommendations from the nine chapters in the Guidelines. The CIFOR Learning Modules is another resource that provide summaries of the CIFOR Guidelines on a variety of topics, including legal preparedness, planning and preparation, surveillance and outbreak detection, control measures, and multi-jurisdictional outbreaks. Workgroup Spotlight CIFOR is comprised of a Governance Committee and workgroups that fulfill the CIFOR mission: Workgroup 1: Increase the capacity of public health systems to identify and eliminate contributing factors and environmental antecedents associated with foodborne disease outbreaks. Workgroup 2: Increase communication and collaboration among the network of public health professionals responding to foodborne disease outbreaks. Workgroup 3: Improve the ability of public health professionals who investigate foodborne disease outbreaks to implement effective recruitment and retention strategies. Workgroup 4: Identify and promote strategies to reduce the time from specimen collection to completion of whole genome sequence analysis. Workgroup 5: Identify and promote strategies to collect, integrate, analyze, and act on data more rapidly and completely during foodborne disease outbreaks. Contact us if you are interested in joining or learning more about a CIFOR Workgroup. Email us at environmentalhealth@astho.org if you are interested in joining or learning more about a CIFOR Workgroup. article no

Climate and Health association of state and territorial health officials, astho, climate and health, climate change, effects of climate change, public health departments, state and territorial health agencies, adverse health effects, health effects of climate change, environmental health, extreme weather and climate, extreme weather and climate readiness, state and territorial health departments, climate readiness, climate adaptation, extreme weather events, vector-borne disease The ongoing effects of impact every part of our lives, including our individual and community-level health. From rising temperatures, increased occurrence and magnitude of natural disasters, expanded vector-borne disease patterns, to increased transmission of waterborne diseases — the changing natural environment in which we live will affect our health. These issues have led to significant negative health effects on both individuals and populations, particularly high-risk communities. As such, public health departments must address how best to respond to this ongoing crisis. State and territorial health agencies can use surveillance tools, create vulnerability assessments, and develop adaptation plans to prepare and respond to the adverse health effects of climate and extreme weather events. website

NAVCO National Association of Vector-Borne Disease Control Officials (NAVCO) The National Association of Vector-Borne Disease Control Officials (NAVCO) regularly provides opportunities for members to showcase their work on key vector-borne disease areas. With assistance from CDC, ASTHO manages the National Association of Vector-Borne Disease Control Officials (NAVCO). NAVCO is comprised of state and territorial entomologists, epidemiologists, veterinarians, and other staff who work in vector-borne disease departments in their state or territory. NAVCO, along with ASTHO, is part of the Vector-Borne Disease Network and regularly provides opportunities for members to showcase their work on key vector-borne disease areas. NAVCO's main goals are: Develop and maintain close working relationships among agencies engaged in vector-borne disease control. Promote effective public health measures related to vector-borne disease prevention and control. Facilitate information exchange among the membership. Encourage collaboration among the various professions engaged in vector control. Promote effective vector control legislation. Stimulate the development or expansion of vector-borne disease prevention, surveillance, and control efforts in the United States and encourage similar professional activity elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere. To learn more about NAVCO email the Environmental Health team at environmentalhealth@astho.org. website no

This self-paced online training module was developed to address the short- and long-term health effects of climate change on vector-borne disease (VBD) transmission and infection patterns. The goal of this training is to provide geographic information system (GIS) tools and resources to Insular Area Health Agencies to assist in their surveillance of, and response to, vector-borne diseases.

Rural communities are developing tailored, self-determined solutions to their unique challenges, including directing investments into community health worker programs that reduce disparities.

As new diseases or emergencies arise, working alongside trusted committees can help health officials quickly respond and prevent undue burden on at-risk groups such as people with disabilities, pregnant people, and children.

Programa de Puerto Rico Apoya a las Poblaciones Vulneradas ASTHO Island Support El Programa de Equidad en Salud del Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico implementó una iniciativa innovadora para apoyar a diversas instituciones, con el objetivo de abordar los determinantes sociales de la salud y promover la equidad en salud entre las poblaciones vulneradas. Esta iniciativa brindó oportunidades a sectores diversos como empresas privadas sin fines de lucro, universidades y hospitales. El proyecto fue evolucionando a lo largo de su desarrollo, demostrando el poder del financiamiento local y la importancia de la flexibilidad en la administración de los programas. Inicio del Proyecto Proceso de Adjudicación y Capacitación Durante la segunda oportunidad de fondos disponibles, 30 organizaciones tenían interés en someter propuestas. Sin embargo, ante una rúbrica detallada y rigurosa solo se recibieron seis solicitudes. De éstas, se otorgaron cuatro subvenciones. El equipo evaluó las propuestas según la rúbrica y asignó fondos para apoyar a poblaciones vulneradas, como personas viviendo en zonas rurales, personas con diversidad funcional, mujeres embarazadas y  población adulta mayor. Implementación y Buenas Prácticas Una vez que el Programa de Equidad en Salud otorgó las subvenciones, se diseñó un plan de trabajo detallado, incluyendo indicadores clave para monitorear y dar seguimiento al progreso de las organizaciones beneficiarias. Se implementó un sistema de seguimiento basado en en una plataforma de SharePoint para la entrega de informes y documentación, y se llevaron a cabo reuniones mensuales para asegurar la cohesión y una comunicación efectiva entre todos los partes involucrados. Este enfoque colaborativo permitió un proceso de monitoreo eficiente y transparente. “Fue un proceso en conjunto, ya que las instituciones conocen mejor a su población. Solo queríamos asegurar un plan sistemático y consistente porque estos asuntos son clave para el progreso y monitoreo de los proyectos.” — Miguel Cruz, PhD, Coinvestigador Principal del Proyecto Evolución del Proyecto El programa inicialmente financió una institución y debido a su impacto positivo, surgieron oportunidades adicionales para proporcionar financiamiento a otras cuatro instituciones. El tema principal giró en torno a la alfabetización en salud como una estrategia para alcanzar la equidad en salud entre las personas que viven en áreas rurales, población adulta mayor, población sin hogar, individuos con diversidad funcional y aquellos con algún desafío de salud mental. Estas cuatro nuevas instituciones cubrieron el área oeste, el centro y otras zonas rurales, ampliando la cobertura dentro de comunidades tradicionalmente desatendidas. Flexibilidad Administrativa y Estrategias de Comunicación Administrativamente, el programa tuvo que ser flexible en los procesos previos y posteriores a la adjudicación de fondos, asegurando el cumplimiento con las regulaciones estatales y federales. Esto incluyó la revisión de anuncios y la creación de planes. Además, el programa desarrolló documentación, como plantillas, y brindó asistencia técnica para aclarar las directrices de cumplimiento, con el fin de garantizar la transparencia y el uso adecuado de los fondos. El programa implementó estrategias de comunicación efectiva para informar a todas las instituciones sobre las oportunidades de financiamiento. Esto incluyó, desde publicaciones en medios de comunicación masivos y redes sociales formales del Departamento de Salud. También se creó un comité externo como canal oficial de comunicación para evaluar las propuestas. Para este propósito, se creó una rúbrica detallada que facilitó la evaluación apropiada, imparcial, y oportuna de cada propuesta. Desafíos y Soluciones Tecnológicas Uno de los desafíos a lo largo del proyecto fue el uso de la tecnología para recibir, procesar y manejar la documentación. Para mitigar estos obstáculos, se facilitó un espacio compartido en la plataforma de SharePoint para colaborar en documentos y solicitudes de formularios e informes entre cada institución subvencionada y el Programa. El equipo del Programa de Equidad también compartió respuestas colectivamente para garantizar que todas las organizaciones estuvieran informadas con los mismos datos y pudieran completar el proceso sin contratiempos y en igual ventaja. Lecciones Aprendidas Una evaluación final del proceso reveló que la anticipación de los desafíos por parte del equipo de trabajo fue clave para el éxito del proyecto. Sin embargo, aún existen áreas de mejora: Una de ellas es la optimización de los procesos financieros por parte de las organizaciones. Es importante ser puntual para someter la evidencia del uso de fondos, así como la rectitud en la reconciliación de facturas en el tiempo en que el dinero fue utilizados. Las organizaciones también deben conciliar los procesos internos con los parámetros que se establece al otorgar fondos. En la medida que se cumplan estos parámetros el proceso por parte del Departamento de Salud podría ser más ágil ya que, aunque los beneficiarios tienen un profesional de contabilidad asignado la documentación tiene que pasar por la oficina Fiscal para evaluación. Otro desafío que enfrentaron las instituciones fue la retención de participantes en las sesiones de capacitación ofrecidas como parte de la subvención. Por ello, se deben establecer mecanismos que garanticen una participación activa y continua en futuras intervenciones. El Programa de Equidad en Salud identificó la oportunidad de estandarizar los procesos de evaluación para las organizaciones. Todas las instituciones trabajaron proyectos diversos. Para evaluar se tomaba en consideración el plan de trabajo de las instituciones con el informe de progreso. Pero, entienden que una evaluación estandarizada podría ser más eficiente en futuras intervenciones. Sostenibilidad y Recomendaciones Varias de las instituciones que recibieron fondos  lo utilizaron como punto de partida para desarrollar iniciativas más grandes. “Las organizaciones utilizaron este financiamiento como un fondo inicial para proyectos que ahora están recibiendo más apoyo financiero. Otros  desarrollaron recursos internos que les permiten continuar trabajando en temas claves de salud. Como ejemplo, han optimizado el uso de bibliotecas digitales, expandido el alcance de adiestramiento y replicado proyectos, que se hicieron con este fondo, en otros municipios.” — Miguel Cruz, PhD, Coinvestigador Principal del Proyecto Para otras agencias que busquen implementar programas similares, la recomendación es clara: agilizar los esfuerzos para mantener la coherencia y consistencia, afirmó el Cruz. Conclusión La comunicación clara, transparente y una administración flexible con enfoque en la equidad en salud, genera un impacto positivo en las poblaciones vulneradas. Esto puede constatarse con el aumento en conocimiento, el incremento en las destrezas de los participantes, sus cambios en actitudes, la inclusión en los servicios, el aumento en el uso de la tecnología por parte de los adultos mayores y las destrezas de equidad en los trabajadores. Este proyecto demuestra cómo los departamentos de salud pueden colaborar con otros sectores para abordar los determinantes sociales y garantizar un acceso equitativo a los recursos. article yes

Understanding Digital Accessibility Before the ADA Title II Deadline Emily Lapayowker, Adrianna Evans With the ADA Title II deadline looming, learn how to prioritize and improve digital accessibility on your agency’s website. Digital accessibility ensures the digital world is usable for everyone. And while it is an increasingly prominent topic in public health, there is still much to learn. This resource can help public health agencies understand digital accessibility basics and promote accessible communications for the disability community, which is typically underserved in public messaging. Government Laws and Requirements ADA The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against and requires equitable access for people with disabilities. ADA’s connection to digital accessibility may not be immediately apparent, but digital accessibility is covered under the large umbrella of equal access to public areas that ADA guarantees. In fact, Title II of ADA enforces digital accessibility compliance by requiring state and local government websites and digital tools be accessible to people with disabilities — the Department of Justice has announced a compliance deadline of April 24, 2026, for jurisdictions of 50,000+ people and April 26, 2027, for smaller entities. Sections 504 and 508 Section 504 of the 1973 (Vocational) Rehabilitation Act requires any entity that gets federal funding to provide equal access to electronic information technologies for people with disabilities. Section 508 requires the federal government to meet those same standards. These sections were initially written in 1998 and then updated in 2018 to include requirements for mobile technology. WCAG Is the Industry Standard The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG, is published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international organization that establishes open web standards. WCAG is currently in its second version. When evaluating compliance, there are three different WCAG conformance levels: A (lowest), AA (middle), and AAA (greatest). Interestingly, W3C recommends that all web-based information aim to hit AA because it is not possible for some types of content to reach AAA compliance. WCAG 3.0 is currently in development and expected to be a major paradigm shift. POUR Principles WCAG standards are principle-based, which means that rather than requiring all web browsers to meet a specific technical standard, WCAG requires that digital content adheres to the POUR principles. All four principles focus on the user’s experience: Perceivable: All information must be presented in a way that ensures users can perceive it using at least one of their senses. Operable: A website is considered operable if all users can effectively navigate it, even those who employ assistive technology, such as screen readers. Understandable: This is a two-pronged principle — users must be able to understand how to use a site and understand its content. Robust: Content must be robust enough that multiple technologies, including assistive devices like screen readers, can interpret it. These laws and guidelines are minimally prescriptive to promote longevity. Remaining principle-based rather than tech-based means these standards will not become obsolete as technology advances. Where and How to Make the Biggest Impact Health agencies can make small changes to digital content in a few key places that will make a world of difference for users with visual, hearing, physical, and cognitive disabilities. Some examples include emails, PDFs, website and social media content, and staff resources. Link Smart and Sparingly Screen reader technology allows low-vision users to navigate webpages and other digital content in a variety of ways. One is by jumping from link to link without referencing the content around that link. So, make your linked text descriptive enough to stand on its own. Also, avoid typing out URLs whenever you can — screen readers will read aloud the URL as phonetically as possible, which is not a great user experience. Additionally, when a screen reader reaches a link in the content, the software will announce it. Use links sparingly to avoid major disruption to the reading experience, as over-linking can make it hard to keep track of the content. Use the Built-In Text Styles Document hierarchy is another essential part of accessibility remediation. The built-in font styles, such as headers and lists, are for more than just aesthetic — screen readers use these styles to navigate Word documents, PDFs, and webpages. Use headers in order (i.e., never skip a heading level), and deploy ordered and unordered lists thoughtfully. For example, if you list specific steps in a process, use an ordered list. If you list symptoms of a viral infection, an unordered list is a better fit. Use Color and Contrast Correctly Do not rely on color alone to convey important information, because users with low vision or colorblindness may have trouble differentiating between different colors or shades. Best practice is to use additional visual markers to signal the presence of important information and ensure there is at least a 3:1 contrast ratio for graphics. Follow Alt Text Best Practices Screen readers read alternative text (or alt text) to allow users with visual or specific cognitive disabilities to understand the content and purpose of an image, table, or informational graphic. Some alt text best practices: Be succinct. The ideal length is between a few words and a couple of short sentences (use the average length of a post on X as a guide, about 250 characters). The goal is to be brief but still convey the image’s vital information. Avoid phrases like “image of” because screen readers will identify all images as such, which makes this redundant. The context around the image is just as crucial as the alt text. If there is already a detailed description of a virion’s shape in the document's body, repeating all that information in the alt text is unnecessary. Not all images convey information. In those cases, it’s important to use null alt text, which will let assistive technology know that the image is decorative. To do this, either add “decorative” in the alt text field, or mark it as decorative in the platform, if that option is available. When creating complex images such as charts or graphs, communicate what the graph is telling users rather than just what it looks like. Learn More There is a whole world to learn about within digital accessibility, but there are resources and experts to help. You can connect with internal experts on your IT team or external disability and accessibility organizations for support. You can also learn more about digital accessibility at the following resources: Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act by U.S. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division Section 508 (Federal Electronic and Information Technology) by U.S. Access Board What Is Plain Language? by Plain Language Action and Information Network Constructing a POUR Website by WebAIM WCAG 101: Understanding the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines by Level Access Glossary of Disability-Related Terms by University of Washington Accessibility Online by Great Lakes ADA Center Related Content-Blog - DELPH Magazine 4 article yes

Federal lawmakers have a long list of public health priorities to address before the current fiscal year ends on September 30, 2023, including must-pass annual appropriations, reauthorizing the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, and taking on emerging challenges such as the opioid epidemic and drug shortages.

There are innovative opportunities to provide high-quality contraceptive care on college campuses, while also reducing stigma to reproductive health and engaging a new generation of public health advocates.

Community design strategies that increase the availability of safe and accessible outdoor spaces create more physical activity opportunities for people of all abilities.

The epidemic of firearm-related injury and death in the United States has become a critical public health and safety concern that affects everyone.

March 24 is World TB Day, we have made significant progress in TB prevention, detection, and treatment. However, there is still a long way to go towards achieving TB elimination.

Seven books for public health leaders that focus on a range of communication topics and best practices.

With the COVID-19 pandemic in full force, health agencies are ensuring that their focus does not drift from the fight to end the HIV epidemic. Resiliency is key to continue to make progress in this decades-long fight.

If EMS can change the perception of patients with Substance Use Disorder, they will see that building rapport and encouraging the patient to seek help from resources they provide can be mutually beneficial. For EMS, it reduces the call volume, and often the financial cost, of repeated responses for the same patient—and the patient gets the help they need to break the cycle of substance dependence.