click here
to download electronic copy
CEHTP HOME >>
<< Back to Current Issue click here
to download electronic copy
CEHTP HOME >>
California Tracking No. 5 Spring 2004The Newsletter of the California Environmental Health Tracking Program |
||||||||||
|
IN THIS ISSUE: As we plan for an Environmental Health Tracking Network in California, we are taking steps to ensure that we involve stakeholders and understand their needs and concerns. This issue highlights some of the program components that are facilitating stakeholder participation and identifying a broad spectrum of stakeholder issues, needs, priorities and concerns related to Environmental Health Tracking. We look forward to continued collaboration with our stakeholders and to translating findings and recommendations into long-term program strategies as well as program activities such as outreach and training.
|
||||||||||
Senate Bill 702* Expert Working Group's Findings/ Recommendations on Stakeholder and Community Needs
One of the goals of an Environmental Health Tracking Network is to make information about environmental impacts on health available to the public in an accessible and useful format. In order to best understand the public's information needs, the SB702 Expert Working Group included, in their deliberations, members of the public and representatives of community-based organizations. Public comment sessions combined with structured presentations enabled the working group to learn about the issues, questions, and challenges facing individuals and organizations.
The Expert Working Group found that environmental health disparities are a major concern among community-based organizations and the public. Members of the public consistently cited the need for scientifically valid and personally relevant information about health and the environment.
In Chapter 6 of Strategies for Establishing an Environmental Health Surveillance System in California: A Report of the SB 702 Expert Working Group, the working group documents the needs articulated by stakeholders, relate these issues to other aspects of public health and environmental policy, and discuss observations regarding the confluence of purpose among researchers, policymakers, and the public on information about health and the environment.
The working group identified organizations engaged in community-based research and health-promotion activities in order to understand their motivations, methods, barriers to conducting their work, and opportunities for collaboration with the tracking system. During the Expert Working Group meetings, representatives from seven organizations made presentations about the following issues:
Three case studies found Chapter 6 summarize some of these presentations in order to provide a more complete description of community activities and needs related to environmental health.
Other key issues discussed in Chapter 6 include:
Dr. Joseph Lyou,
Executive Director of the
California Environmental Rights Alliance,
and SB702 Expert Working Group member spoke to these
community issues at a February 24th press
conference for the release of the SB702 report. His
statement, along with related press materials, can be found
here >> |
||||||||||
Learning about Stakeholder Needs through the Alameda County Pilot ProjectBackground: The California Environmental Health Tracking Program is involving stakeholders and identifying their needs and issues through the Alameda County Demonstration Project. This project will serve as a "road test" of an Environmental Health Tracking Network by linking datasets for traffic pollution, birth outcomes, and asthma-related health care use for Alameda County for 2001. The intent is to incorporate stakeholder feedback into the strategic plan for an Environmental Health Tracking Network. In January 2004, we completed an analysis of the birth outcomes data and presented the results at the first of a series of stakeholder input meetings.
Initial Findings: Based on anticipated stakeholder interests, rates of pre-term birth and term low birthweight were quantified by zip code (see FIGURE 1), race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. In addition to these results, zip code maps and "smoothed" maps were created (see FIGURE 2). The results were consistent with those from previous studies on health disparities. Additionally, we found that the smoothed maps provide better resolution and better represent reality than zip code maps. However, we still needed to find out if these findings were useful to our stakeholders, what would make them more useful, and how we should create and disseminate materials based on these findings.
Stakeholder Input/Response: Representatives of local CBOs, NGOs, health departments, service providers, city councilpersons, and the EPA attended the first stakeholder meeting. Staff presented an introduction to tracking, initial birth outcomes findings, and a preliminary Internet-based interactive interface. Participants provided feedback (see table below) regarding their information needs. For detailed stakeholder feedback from the meeting, visit www.catracking.com/sub/pp1t.htm.
Next Steps: The information requested by participants will be incorporated as feasible, and birth outcomes materials will be created. These materials will be reviewed by the group and revised based on feedback. We are also conducting analysis of the asthma data, which will be presented at the next stakeholder input meeting in May.
For more information about the Alameda County Pilot Project,
please contact Michelle Wong at
mwong@dhs.ca.gov |
||||||||||
Statewide Stakeholder Group :: The CEHTP Planning ConsortiumIn order to involve stakeholders, address their needs and issues, and utilize their expertise in planning for an Environmental Health Tracking Network, the California Environmental Health Tracking Program (CEHTP) has convened a Planning Consortium composed of representatives from local agencies, community-based and non-governmental organizations, environmental advocacy groups, the University of California, and state and federal agencies such as US EPA, California Department of Health Services, and Cal/EPA.
The Planning Consortium has met three times and has contributed significantly toward planning for an Environmental Health Tracking Network in California; especially toward our understanding of stakeholder perspectives and needs. Summary of the group's discussions can be found in the meeting materials folder at www.catracking.com/sub/pc.htm.
In future meetings, the Planning
Consortium will facilitate the development of protocols
and policies for an Environmental Health Tracking Network
in California. Examples include: accountability
mechanisms, transparency policies, stakeholder
involvement/public participation guidelines, procedures
for responding to community concerns/requests, etc. For
more information about the CEHTP Planning Consortium,
please contact Mimi Johnson at
mjohnson@dhs.ca.gov. |
||||||||||
Statewide Needs Assessment Survey Results :: Needs Assessment Team ActivitiesA key step in planning for an Environmental Health Tracking Network in California is identifying and prioritizing needs, issues, and concerns among key stakeholders including: non-governmental organizations, local health and environmental health agencies. To that end, the Needs Assessment Team, a workgroup of the CEHTP Planning Consortium (see previous article) was convened to assist in the development and implementation of a needs assessment activities.
Objectives of the needs assessment include identifying needs and issues related to:
Phase 1 of the statewide needs assessment - survey questionnaires of NGOs, local health agencies, and local environmental health agencies - has been completed. This component of the needs assessment yielded valuable information that will be used to inform the development of outreach and training strategies and to facilitate the development of a strategic plan for an Environmental Health Tracking Network in California.
Phase 1 also served to identify future partners/collaborators; engage stakeholders; evaluate current communication activities of CEHTP; identify key messages; and generate awareness and interest.
If you have any questions about the
CEHTP needs assessment or would like to receive the Phase
1 report when it is available, please contact Eddie Oh at
510-620-3698. |
||||||||||
Related Survey/Assessment Findings on Stakeholder Needs, Issues, and Perception Regarding Environmental Health :: Secondary Data SourcesBelow are a few links to existing information about environmental health issues that may help to inform the CEHTP Needs Assessment Report, our outreach and training activities, and the development of an Environmental Health Tracking Network.
|
||||||||||
Resource for Community Assessment and Stakeholder Involvement :: PACE EH Regional Training
The Protocol for Assessing Community
Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE EH) tool is a
community strategic planning process designed to help
local public health agencies and communities work
collaboratively to assess and improve local environmental
health. The PACE EH regional trainings are designed to
help participants gain a better understanding of PACE EH-
both the concepts that underpin the model as well as the
practical aspects of the process. A special emphasis will
be placed on practical applications of PACE EH by
presenting lessons learned from actual PACE users.
Representatives from local health departments, community
partner organizations, and state health departments should
register NOW for the training in Washington DC, April
21st-22nd, 2004. For complete registration information
visit the PACE EH web site at
http://www.naccho.org/project78.cfm. For more
information, contact Jennifer Li (jli@naccho.org)
or Gea Jackson (gjackson@naccho.org)
at NACCHO, (202) 783-5550. |
|
Disclaimer: Links to non-CEHTP resources found at this site are provided solely as a service. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these resources and none should be inferred. CEHTP is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages or documents found at these links. |
Priority public-health and/or environmental-hazard concerns
in their community.
