Local health departments’ is capacity and the impact on their plans to implement an environmental health information systems
Document Type
Presentation
Presentation Date
10-2020
Abstract or Description
Presentation given at the APHA Annual Meeting and Expo.
Background: Public health professionals have been tasked with effectively addressing the challenges that today’s global society presents. In order to do this, public health practitioners must utilize information technology (IT), such as geographic information system (GIS), and informatics in order to accurately track and analyze threats so that they can properly communicate the necessary information needed to accelerate responses.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the LHD’s current information systems (IS) capacity and engagement in health informatics on their plans to implement an Environmental Health Information System.
Methods: Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed on data from the 2015 Informatics Needs and Capacity of LHDs Study. Conducted by National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO), this is the latest national level comprehensive survey of LHD informatics
Results: Sixty percent of LHDs use an Electronic Syndromic Surveillance System, however, 59.7% of those LHDs have no plans to implement Environmental Health IS despite 86.5% of LHDs have high-speed internet access. Over 40% of LHDs that reported having interoperability between most of their systems have already implemented an Environmental Health IS. Informatics training for staff, program control of IS infrastructure, and the primary system for clinic service data also had an impact on their plans to implement an Environmental Health Information System.
Conclusion: As LHDs advance their efforts towards being adequately prepared, advancing their communication, and effectively utilizing rapid response to threats in order to avoid panic and safeguard the population, significant variations still exist across LHDs concerning their environmental health IS implementation plans. These findings might be valuable to public health leadership at the local, state and national levels as they seek improvement in the usage, quality, usefulness, and awareness of the current environmental health information systems within their organizations.
Sponsorship/Conference/Institution
APHA Annual Meeting and Expo 2020
Location
Virtual
Source
https://apha.confex.com/apha/2020/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/478708
Recommended Citation
Waterfield, Kristie C., Gulzar H. Shah, Dziyana Nazaruk, Nandi A. Marshall, Jeffery A. Jones.
2020.
"Local health departments’ is capacity and the impact on their plans to implement an environmental health information systems."
Department of Health Policy and Community Health Faculty Presentations.
Presentation 243.
source: https://apha.confex.com/apha/2020/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/478708
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/hpmb-facpres/243
