Revolutionary Environmental Health Tracking Tool designed to help
improve and protect our nation’s health
|
|
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today the launch of the Web-based Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, a surveillance tool that scientists, health professionals, and – for the first time – members of the public can use to track environmental exposures and chronic health conditions.
“The ability to examine many data sets together for the first time has
already resulted in faster responses to environmental health issues. We
believe the Tracking Network holds the potential to shed new light on
some of our biggest environmental health questions,” said Howard
Frumkin, M.D., M.P.H., DrPh., director, of CDC’s National Center for
Environmental Health.
The web-based tool unites vital environmental information from across
the country, including air and water pollutants and information for some
chronic conditions, including asthma, cancer, childhood lead poisoning
and heart disease into one resource.
While scientists know exposures such as air particle pollution and lead
contribute to illnesses, many environmental and health connections
remain unproven since detailed health and environmental data existed in
separate silos until now.
“The Tracking Network is the foundation we need to make better
environmental health decisions and help prevent chronic illnesses, such
as asthma, cancer, and heart disease,” said Michael McGeehin, Ph.D.,
director, Division of Environmental Hazard and Health Effects of CDC’s
National Center for Environmental Health.
CDC funds projects in California, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and New York
City.
To date, their projects have led to 73 public health actions to control
potential illnesses from environmental exposures. For example, the Utah
Department of Health received a call from a citizen concerned about
cases of cancer in his neighborhood. In the past, a similar call would
have prompted a study that would have taken up to a year to complete,
with most of that time spent waiting for data. In less than a day, the
Utah Tracking Program was able to let this resident know that the
likelihood of cancer in his area was no greater than in the state as a
whole.
Massachusetts ranks third in the United States for prevalence of asthma.
When Massachusetts Tracking staff conducted asthma surveillance and
indoor quality assessments in schools, a significant association between
mold/moisture and the prevalence of asthma was found. Based on tracking
data, Massachusetts staff are working with school officials to correct
mold/moisture problems and to enact policy changes for reducing mold and
moisture in schools.
In March 2009, CDC received additional funding from Congress to expand
environmental public health tracking to five more locations. Awards will
be made and announced later this summer. Over time, CDC hopes to expand
the Tracking Network across all 50 states, and track additional
environmental hazards and health conditions to build a more complete
picture of environmental public health.
CDC’s Tracking Network is the result of collaboration with 17 local and
state health departments; federal partners, including the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Cancer Institute, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey; and
organizations including the American Public Health Association,
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Council of State
and Territorial Epidemiologists, National Association of County and City
Health Officials, National Environmental Health Association, National
Association of Health Data Organizations and the National Association
for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems.
For more information please visit the Tracking Network at
www.cdc.gov/ephtracking. Watch the YouTube video at
http://www.youtube.com/user/CDCStreamingHealth.
Subscribe to our FREE Ezine and be eligible for Health News, discounted products/services and coupons related to your Health. We publish 24/7.
HealthNewsDigest.com