Editor in chief Lloyd F. Novick highlights new articles in the January/February 2023 issues of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

The January 2023 issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice (JPHMP) emphasizes the importance of data and surveillance to programs critical to assuring health equity. The lead editorial, “Incorporating a Health Equity Lens into Surveillance Information Systems: Opportunities and Challenges,” by Martin and Angles, discusses the opportunities and challenges of integrating a health equity lens into surveillance information systems. They use the national STD reporting system as a case study to demonstrate the numerous steps that would improve the system. Erika Martin is a member of our editorial board. At the June meeting of the board, it was decided to add student members. John Angles is one of the two student members added.

A commentary and scientific article by Auer, Arrazola, and colleagues at the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) focuses on building capacity for surveillance. The commentary describes the challenges affecting the applied epidemiology workforce and opportunities for non-profits and academic institutions to collaborate in support of the governmental public health workforce. The accompanying scientific article reports on the 2021 CSTE Epidemiology Capacity Assessment for state health departments. The authors estimate an additional 8000 epidemiologists are needed at state, local, territorial, and tribal governmental agencies beyond the 6331 that was enumerated in the CSTE assessment.

“Data for Equity: Creating an Anti-Racist, Intersectional Approach to Data in a Local Health Department,” authored by Gould and co-authors at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, reports on recommendations for achieving equitable data practice. They developed a collaborative model for how a local health department can reform data work to embed an equity lens.

Walters and co-authors from the Multnomah Health Department, OR, have contributed an article: “Transgender and Nonbinary Deaths Investigated by the State Medical Examiner in the Portland, Oregon, Metro Area and Their Concordance with Vital Records, 2011-2021.” The authors’ purpose was to improve the recording of gender identity from Medical Examiner (ME) investigations and death certificates. They found poor concordance between the gender identity in ME records and death certificates. This impeded the accurate surveillance of a population disproportionately at risk for violent death. Also in this issue, Thomas and colleagues write about the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) workforce training on sexual and gender minorities.

With the January issue, we are publishing a supplement developed by the de Beaumont Foundation: Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey 2021 (PH WINS). As stated in the lead editorial by Hare Bork, Castrucci, and Fraser, this survey provides necessary, actionable public health workforce data for the field. PH WINS provides data for the governmental public health workforce particularly important in a time of change related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have published two previous supplements on PH WINS 2014 and 2017.

Related Posts:

• November 2022: COVID-19 Ongoing Challenge
• September 2022: Health Equity in Healthy People 2030
• July 2022: Public Health Agencies Respond to Challenges
• May 2022: Healthy Behaviors
• March 2022: Public Health Surveillance
• January 2022: The Continuing Challenge of COVID-19 and Interventions to Address Health Disparities Associated with Structural Racism
• November 2021: Environmental Public Health and Healthy People 2030
• September 2021: Local Public Health Agencies
• July 2021: The Opioid Epidemic
• May 2021: COVID-19 Policy Implications
• January 2021: COVID-19 and Public Health–Looking Back, Moving Forward