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After a year and a half of work as embedded disability specialists, 5 program participants share their reflections on important lessons learned and why disability inclusion is critical to the future of emergency preparedness.

Deaf people—especially sign language users—are one community that is often overlooked and forgotten in public health communications, which are almost always caused by miscommunication or exclusivity. COVID-19 has shined a light on these inequities.

While COVID-19 is still present and ever-changing, public health professionals must also grapple with new challenges such as monkeypox, increasing firearm homicide, and widespread heat waves. In the wake of such emergencies, public health preparedness is more critical than ever.

On the 32nd anniversary of the ADA, this blog post explores state legislation around the country that supports people living with disabilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided an unprecedented opportunity to speed up developing Delaware’s Functional Assessment Service Team and to test it at scale.

Spanish language version of "Embedded: Puerto Rico’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness Academy" blog post.

On Dec. 3, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, ASTHO is commemorating nearly 12 months of supporting disability and preparedness specialists in state and territorial health agencies. Throughout 2021, ASTHO embedded 20 full-time disability and preparedness specialists within state and territorial public health agencies to ensure an inclusive approach to emergency preparedness. This is the first of a multi-part series spotlighting these embedded experts.

As the Delta variant spreads across the country and increases the number of COVID-19 cases, the strain it is placing on the nation’s health system continues to grow. The surge of COVID-19 patients is contributing to a shortage of the medications and equipment used to treat the disease. As these limitations grow, decisions will need to be made as to which patients receive resources and care and which patients don’t. To guide these decisions, policies called crisis standards of care are often established to maximize resource benefit and ensure they are distributed equitably.

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.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the intersections of social determinants of health, such as transportation, education, and housing, and their impact on the health of individuals and communities. As the moratorium on evictions ends in many parts of the United States, housing in particular looms as a potential public health crisis. Braiding and layering funding is when government agencies and non-traditional partners collaborate and coordinate to combine different streams of funding to address social determinants of health. This post lists three examples where funding has been successfully braided or layered to support housing needs.

Every year in mid-July is National Youth Sports Week—in 2021 it falls on July 19-23. It’s an important health observance because youth sports create strong connections with peers and caring adults, as well as promote socio-emotional skills and positive well-being. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s National Youth Sports Strategy outlines policies and strategies that support access to youth sports. NYSS Champions, including ASTHO, work to promote participation and recognize the positive health outcomes sports can have on youth, such as limiting the impacts of adverse childhood experiences and building resiliency.

This brief dives into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability of people with disabilities to access vital health care services during the public health emergency.

Health agencies play a key role in preparing for and responding to hurricanes and other severe weather events.

Learn how health agencies are prioritizing children’s health as they develop public health emergency preparedness planning in this blog.

It has never been more important for public health to better understand the disability community and quickly build skills and resources to better serve them, which makes it critical to include more people living with disabilities in the public health workforce.

Pennsylvania introduced innovative processes to help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities access COVID-19 vaccines and other critical care.

With Omicron surges pushing jurisdictions to activate protocols for providing healthcare during crisis, it is important to incorporate disability inclusion into these crisis standards of care.

Episode 620: Prepping for a Wave of Seniors, Listeria Response Relies on Communication website yes

Episode 495: Power Outage Toolkit, Alpha-Gal Syndrome Explained website yes

Advanced Accessibility Training Advanced Digital Accessibility Training Take a deeper dive into digital accessibility with members of ASTHO's Graphic Design and Web teams. This session will build on skills from the October 2025 training by covering the legal requirements and landscape, basic document remediation strategies, and the overlap between web and document accessibility. After this session, attendees should be able to: Understand the ADA Title II Web Rule requirements. How to communicate the importance of embracing accessibility. Be familiar with common document remediation strategies. Understand the commonalities between website and document accessibility. Speakers Emily Lapayowker, Assistant Director, Web Content, ASTHO Christopher Preheim, Manager, Graphic Design, ASTHO Heidi Satter, Director, Web & Data Solutions, ASTHO Resources Slide Deck (PDF) Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments Transcript - Video - Advanced Accessibility Training article yes