In September 2000, the Environmental Health Tracking Project Team at Johns Hopkins University with the support of the PEW Environmental Health Commission released “America’s Environmental Health Gap: Why the Country Needs a Nationwide Health Tracking Network.” This report provided insight into what a future Environmental Public Health Tracking Network might look like as well as to what types of questions it may be able to assist in answering. In the four years following the publication of this report, great strides have been made towards building the Nationwide Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. This opening panel will highlight the progress made, provide a strong focus as to what we need to accomplish in moving towards implementation of the network, and examine how this workshop can assist us in identifying our next steps.

Speakers:

• Paul English, PhD, MPH (Moderator)
  Principal Investigator, California Environmental Public Health Tracking
   
• Michael McGeehin, PhD, MSPH [PDF, 796 Kb]
  Director, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, CDC
   
• Judith Qualters, PhD [PDF, 41 Kb]
  Chief, Environmental Health Tracking Branch, CDC
   
• Thomas Burke, PhD, MPH, ScM [PDF, 1.2 Mb]
  Principal Investigator, Johns Hopkins University Center of Excellence in EPHT
   
• Richard Kreutzer, MD
  Chief, Environmental Health Investigations Branch, CDHS
   
• John Balmes, MD
  Principal Investigator, University of California at Berkeley Center of Excellence in EPHT

The Centers of Excellence have been performing a number of activities with their partner states/localities in many areas, including but not limited to program planning and implementation, methods development, and epidemiologic research. The Centers of Excellence have worked closely with their state and local partners to examine what an EPHT network may look like, what types of tools or methodologies it may need to include, as well as what types of questions can be uniquely answered by such a surveillance system. This strong collaboration between academia and public health practice in EPHT can help us to examine areas of commonality across the nation.

Speakers:

• Gambrelli Layco, MFS (Moderator)
  Program Manager, Utah Environmental Public Health Tracking
   
• LuAnn E. White, PhD [PDF, 220 Kb]
  Principal Investigator, Tulane University Center of Excellence in EPHT
   
• Thomas Burke, PhD, MPH, ScM [PDF, 464 Kb]
  Principal Investigator, Johns Hopkins University Center of Excellence in EPHT
   
• John Balmes, MD [PDF, 38 Kb]
  Principal Investigator, University of California at Berkeley Center of Excellence in EPHT

The Standards and Network Development (SND) Workgroup was established to ensure collaboration among CDC, states, and other partners in the development of the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. All grantees have designated members in the SND. The work of the SND has focused on developing common definitions, identifying standards for documenting data quality, establishing approaches for accessing data, addressing needs for geographic encoding of data, and developing a common conceptual view of the architecture of the network overall. This plenary provides an opportunity for grantees to become familiar with the SND activities that will have an effect on all network participants. At the end of this session, grantees will better understand the conceptual design, development tools, and standards for implementing the EPHTN.

Speakers:

• Nancy Tosta
  Ross & Associates, Ltd.
   
• Steven Macdonald, PhD, MPH [PDF, 142 Kb]
  Principal Investigator, Washington State Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
   
• Sandy Thames [PDF, 142 Kb]
  Public Health Advisor, Environmental Health Tracking Branch, CDC

As we move forward in defining the future of Environmental Public Health Tracking we experience a variety of questions, opportunities, concerns, barriers and successes. All of these elements are a natural part of the creation of a new program and help us to identify how to develop new activities, revise existing activities and enhance our communications. Our experiences during the first two years of this program can help us to examine partner needs and to work together in continuing to develop our efforts to strengthen and maintain EPHT at the local, state, and federal levels and within academia. This session will explore questions that are asked of us from within our state and local health departments, our environmental counterparts, our policy makers, and our communities. Presenters will share what has been done to address these questions thus far, and will hypothesize about what is needed to maintain and enhance our existing activities. In addition, this session will provide time for interactive roundtable discussions between participants to identify areas of commonalities and differences in experiences encountered during the first years of funding.

Speakers:

• Leslie A. Fierro, MPH (Moderator)
  Epidemiologist, Environmental Health Tracking Branch, CDC
   
• Roger W. Gibson, MPH [PDF, 344 Kb]
  Program Director, Missouri Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
   
• Daniel E. Kass, MSPH [PDF, 1 Mb]
  Program Director, New York City Environmental Connections
   
• Geoffrey Lomax, DrPh [PDF, 329 Kb]
  Research Director, California Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
   
• Timothy Watkins, MS [PDF, 1 Mb]
  Deputy Director, Human Exposure and Atmospheric Science Division, ORD/EPA

• State/Community HANES - San Miguel Room
• PHASE - Ballroom West
• EPA IMWG EHDAT - Potrero Room

A number of participants with different backgrounds and interest in EPHT have been selected as the workshop “raconteurs.” These individuals are responsible for sitting in sessions with an “eye and ear” for themes arising from workshop sessions, roundtables, other facilitated discussions, and questions/answer sessions. The raconteurs will share key issues, needs, barriers and successes that were expressed by workshop participants on October 13th during this plenary session. Additionally, they will synthesize this information and share their thoughts/ideas as to how these findings can be utilized in moving EPHT into the future.

Discussion 1: Tracking & Drinking Water: Issues, Approaches & Opportunities for Collaboration

Speakers:

• Jerald Fagliano, MPH, PhD [PDF, 387 Kb]
  New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
   
• Craig Wolff, M.S. Eng [PDF, 100 Kb]
  CA Environmental Health Tracking Program
   
• Len Flowers, MS [PDF, 1.8 Mb]
  New Mexico Department of Health Environmental Health Tracking

Discussion 2: Network Architecture Concepts

Discussion 3: Targeting the Policy Audience

Discussion 4: Environmental Hazard Roundtables: Approaches, Challenges, Successes

Discussion 1: Mechanisms for Documenting and Sharing Data

Speakers:

• Chuck Shorter [PDF, 160 Kb]
  Tulane University COE
   
• The Metadata/Data Quality Sub-Group [PDF, 858 Kb]
   
• Kathleen Fox-Williams [PDF, 138 Kb]
  SND Workgroup, Data Sharing Subgroup

Discussion 2: Spatial Data Linkages: Standards, Opportunities, & Challenges

Speakers:

• Thomas Talbot [PDF, 485 Kb]
  Environmental Health Surveillance Section, NYS Department of Health
   
• Craig Wolff, M.S. Eng [PDF, 180 Kb]
  CA Environmental Health Tracking Program

Discussion 3: Working Effectively with Stakeholders: Approaches to Program Planning

Speakers:

• Gary V. Archambault [PDF, 41 Kb]
  Connecticut Environmental Public Health Tracking
   
• Andrew Smith, S.M., Sc.D. [PDF, 58 Kb]
  State Toxicologist & Director, Environmental Health Unit, Maine Department of Human Services
   
• Ihsan A. Azzam, MD, MPH [PDF, 611 Kb]
  Bureau of Community Health, Nevada State Health Division

Discussion 4: Health Effects Roundtables: Approaches, Challenges, Successes

Discussion 1: Building Logical Data Models

Speakers:

• Mead Walker [PDF, 565 Kb]
   
• Mead Walker [PDF, 156 Kb]
   
• Kristi Eckerson [PDF, 235 Kb]
  Data Modeler, Health Solutions, CDC Programs Northrop Grumman Corporation, Federal Enterprise Solutions
   
• Kristi Eckerson [PDF, 708 Kb]
  Data Modeler, Health Solutions, CDC Programs Northrop Grumman Corporation, Federal Enterprise Solutions

Discussion 2: Small Area Analysis and Clustering Techniques for use in EPHT

Discussion 3: Issues and Challenges of Risk Communication and Public Participation in the Context of EPHT

Speaker:

• Michelle Wong, MPH, et. al. [PDF, 1 Mb]
  Health Educator, Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Health Services

• University of California
• Johns Hopkins University
• Tulane University

The Program Marketing and Outreach (PMO) Workgroup supports CDC and its grantees in development and implementation of program outreach and marketing plans. PMO develops appropriate education and outreach materials that clarify, emphasize, and support the goals, objectives, and timely promotion of the national EPHT effort. PMO has kicked off its outreach strategy plan to ensure that clear concise messages about the program are being made available to a variety of key audiences. The PMO has established subgroup teams to refine key program messages, profile and prioritize target audiences, tailor messages for each target audience, and define channels for reaching the target audiences. The PMO workgroup is also developing evaluation criteria to determine how well the outreach activities are working. This plenary provides an opportunity for grantees to become familiar with activities that will support their future work. At the end of this session, grantees will better understand the outreach activities PMO has planned and conducted to (1) raise interest in and awareness of the National EPHT Program, (2) engage community members in discussion of EPHT information, and (3) provide opportunities for the public to become involved in the program planning process.

Speaker:

• Lorena Barck, PhD, JD

During the closing plenary we will hear key messages from the workshop raconteurs. This will include key issues, needs, barriers and successes that were expressed by workshop participants on October 14th as well as a synthesis of the important highlights of the entire workshop. They will continue to share their thoughts/ideas as to what these key messages may mean for building the Nationwide EPHT Network. Judith Qualters, Chief of the Environmental Health Tracking Branch will sum up the workshop with next steps related to building the Nationwide Network.