| Identifying Priority Health Conditions, Environmental Data, and Infrastructure Needs: A Synopsis of the Pew Environmental Health Tracking Project Jill Litt,1 Nga Tran,2 Kristen Chossek Malecki,3 Roni Neff,3 Beth Resnick,3 and Thomas Burke3 1University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, Denver, Colorado, USA; 2Exponent Consulting, Washington, DC, USA; 3The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, Baltimore, Maryland, USA Abstract
In this article we describe the methodologic approaches of the Pew Environmental Health Commission at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health used to identify priority environmental health conditions and develop recommendations to establish a national environmental public health tracking network. We present the results of a survey of public health and environmental practitioners to uncover state and local health tracking needs and priorities. We describe the steps that combined the findings from the state and local health tracking survey and a review of the state of the science on environmental impacts on health to identify priority health end points. Through an examination of national health and health care databases, we then describe trends and public health effects of those diseases that may be linked to the environment. Based on this analysis, respiratory diseases and neurologic diseases are recommended as priorities for tracking. Specific end points recommended for tracking include asthma and chronic respiratory diseases, and chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Based on trends in reported prevalence, consideration should also be given to developmental disabilities, reproductive disorders, and endocrine/metabolic disorders. Strengthening of current efforts to track cancer and birth defects should also be included as components of a nationwide health tracking network. Finally, we present the recommendations for environmental public health tracking. These recommendations provided the groundwork for the development of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Progam that now includes 21 states, three cities, and three academic centers throughout the nation. Key words: biomonitoring, disease surveillance, environmental health indicators, environmental public health tracking, exposure, health policy, information systems. Environ Health Perspect 112:1414-1418 (2004) . doi:10.1289/ehp.7147 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 3 August 2004]
This article is part of the mini-monograph "National Environmental Public Health Tracking," which is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . Address correspondence to T. Burke, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, 624 N. Broadway, Room 484, Baltimore, MD 21205 USA. Telephone: (410) 614-4587. Fax: (410) 614-4535. E-mail: tburke@jhsph.edu This article was supported by an environmental public health tracking cooperative agreement from CDC. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 1 April 2004 ; accepted 3 August 2004.
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