Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Mar-Apr;21 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S23-35.
doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000181.

A decade of environmental public health tracking (2002-2012): progress and challenges

Gregory D Kearney  1 , Gonza Namulanda, Judith R Qualters, Evelyn O Talbott
Affiliations
Review

A decade of environmental public health tracking (2002-2012): progress and challenges

Gregory D Kearney et al. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2015 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Background: The creation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Environmental Public Health Tracking Program spawned an invigorating and challenging approach toward implementing the nation's first population-based, environmental disease tracking surveillance system. More than 10 years have passed since its creation and an abundance of peer-reviewed articles have been published spanning a broad variety of public health topics related primarily to the goal of reducing diseases of environmental origin.

Objective: To evaluate peer-reviewed literature related to Environmental Public Health Tracking during 2002-2012, recognize major milestones and challenges, and offer recommendations.

Design: A narrative overview was conducted using titles and abstracts of peer-reviewed articles, key word searches, and science-based search engine databases.

Main outcomes: Eighty published articles related to "health tracking" were identified and categorized according to 4 crossed-central themes. The Science and Research theme accounted for the majority of published articles, followed by Policy and Practice, Collaborations Among Health and Environmental Programs, and Network Development.

Conclusions: Overall, progress was reported in the areas of data linkage, data sharing, surveillance methods, and network development. Ongoing challenges included formulating better ways to establish the connections between health and the environment, such as using biomonitoring, public water systems, and private well water data. Recommendations for future efforts include use of data to inform policy and practice and use of electronic health records data for environmental health surveillance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1. Search and Selection Strategy for Literature Review for Publications Related to Environmental Public Health Tracking (2002-2012)
Abbreviation: CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2. Percentage of Publications According to Central Themes Among Articles Reviewed (N = 80)a
aSeveral articles were recognized in more than 1 category; therefore, the total exceeds 100%.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3. Trends of Environmental Public Health Tracking by Central Themes From 2002 to 2012a
aSeveral articles were recognized in more than 1 category; therefore, the total exceeds 100%.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. The Pew Environmental Health Commission at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. America’s environmental health gap: why the country needs a nationwide health tracking network. [April 19, 2010];Companion report. http://healthyamericans.org/reports/files/healthgap.pdf. Published September 2000.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s, National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program. [May 19, 2010]; http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/tracking/pdfs/strategy.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC’s strategy for the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, fiscal years (2005-2010) [May 19, 2010]; http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/tracking/pdfs/strategy.pdf.
    1. Novick L. Issue focus. Environmental Public Health Tracking. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2008;14(6):505–610. - PubMed
    1. Marmagas SW, King LR, Chuk MG. Public health’s response to a changed world: September 11, biological terrorism, and the development of an environmental health tracking network. Am J Public Health. 2003;93(8):1226–1230. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms