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Environmental Public Health Services in Spotlight

Posted on: Wednesday, 13 April 2005, 03:00 CDT

Web site, state environmental fact sheets now available

THE challenges and successes of environmental public health at the state and local levels are being highlighted through a new Web site and fact sheet series.

Created through APHA's Revitalize Environmental Public Health Services Project, the resources are being used to educate 'policy- makers on the importance of environmental public health and draw attention to the need for funding on the issue.

The new Web site, which is online now at , features an overview of environmental public health, highlights the work that environmental public health workers carry out and spotlights critical issues faced by communities and workers.

The APHA resources are an outgrowth of a 2003 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strategy that set a course for revitalizing the nation's environmental public health services. APHA is working to implement the strategy by educating policy-makers on such services, organizing its efforts around a catchphrase of "Environmental Public Health: Everyone. Everywhere. Every Day."

APHA's efforts are especially crucial now because of challenges facing the environmental public health work force, such as aging personnel, low pay scales, minimal advancement opportunities and a lack of training opportunities. At the same time, environmental public health issues are growing more complex, with workers dealing with everything from chemical contamination and terrorism to West Nile virus and food safety.

"Environmental public health workers and programs play a crucial role in protecting the health of the public," said Tracy Kolian, MPH, APHA's policy analyst. "It's vital that we, as public health advocates, educate decision-makers on these issues."

A key feature of the new environmental public health Web site is its downloadable fact sheets that profile issues faced by individual states. So far, fact sheets are available for four states: Alabama, California, Iowa and Pennsylvania. Work is under wayon additional fact sheets, with Maryland and Mississippi editions expected to debut in coming months.

The fact sheets discuss environmental public health topics of interest in each state, such as sprawl, air quality, childhood lead poisoning, toxic waste, healthy homes and dirty water. The fact sheets also highlight model programs in the states that are working to remedy existing environmental public health problems and . prevent new ones from occurring. For example, the Philadelphia Department of Health is using funding from CDC to conduct an urban rodent control program to protect residents from disease.

The fact sheets, which were reviewed by APHA's public health partners and its Environment section, have been distributed to public health associations and environmental health offices in each of the highlighted states. APHA advocacy staff are also using the fact sheets in their outreach to Congress.

The new APHA fact sheets and Web site join an environmental publichealth brochure and an information booth created through the Association last year. The booth - along with promotional materials such as T-shirts and stickers - made its debut at the 132nd APHA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., in November.

To download the fact sheets, visit the Web site at and click on the link for "APHA Project." For more information on APHA's work, e-mail or call (202) 777- 2435.

Michele Late

Copyright American Public Health Association Mar 2005

Source: Nation's Health, The

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