Learnings from a 2-day virtual convening of health department professionals on public health actions related to abortion. Even when scientific evidence is clear, political controversy about a public health issue can make it difficult for public health agencies to know how to proceed. This has been very clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, as public health officials have feared backlash while doing
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It is vital to ensure that PHAB accreditation is accomplished in a way that maximizes its impact on health equity and does not systematically leave out jurisdictions. In our article titled, “An Analysis of How Characteristics of Local Health Department Jurisdictions Influence Involvement in PHAB Accreditation: Implications for Health Equity,” my colleague, Ashlyn Lipnicky and I set out to explore
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These findings provide insight into the specific capabilities and capacities strengthened through accreditation that may, in turn, influence financial outcomes. In the United States, the public health system includes a diverse and complex constellation of organizations and individuals. The backbone of this system is governmental public health, including state, tribal, local, and territorial public health departments. Health departments do critical
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The whole world has changed since the NYC Health Department exhibited Undesign the Redline in 2018, but the relevance of the project has only grown. The project, detailed in a newly published report, provided a concrete way for a local health department to engage with residents, community partners, and government employees about structural racism. Since 2018, two events stand out.
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With a 200% increase in the rate of opioid-involved deaths since 2000, many US states and the federal government have declared states of public health emergency. In response, many state and local health departments are developing opioid data dashboards with visualizations, descriptive information, and downloadable data or reports. Visualizing the Opioid Epidemic Opioid data dashboards can potentially improve our understanding
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