Tracking Environmental Health Data for Public Health Decision Making

Though it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when discussing our well-being, the environment plays an important role in our health and development. Research has shown that exposure to certain environmental hazards can lead to chronic disease, but for many years, we lacked the ability to reliably track the health effects of environmental factors. Even when data was available, most tracking systems were not linked, making it difficult to study and monitor these health effects.

In 2002, CDC established the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, and began to develop a nationwide environmental public health tracking network. This network allows federal, state, and local partners to access integrated data, helping to fill a critical information gap and to inform the public and public health action.

This session of Public Health Grand Rounds will discuss how CDC’s Tracking Program has made strides in addressing the lack of environmental health data, and how the program has informed public health decision making and action at the state and local levels.