State health agencies are well-positioned to build the infrastructure necessary for scaling up the use of community health workers by defining their core competencies and building opportunities for ...
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, states are using their emergency powers to authorize a variety of social distancing measures. This post is a summary of executive orders that have led to the ...
To help break the chain of COVID-19 infections, state and local health departments are conducting disease investigations and contact tracing, core tools of public health practice used to combat the ...
To prepare and respond to COVID-19, Congress and the administration approved three emergency supplemental bills for the federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governmental agencies. This post ...
States have begun to expand their focus when developing new approaches to improve surveillance, promote harm reduction, create linkages to care, and educate providers on opioid overdose reduction.
The introduction of highly effective antiviral treatments for hepatitis C in 2014 marks the first time we have been able to cure a major and highly-infectious virus. Despite the significant ...
Karen Smith (alumni-CA) discusses the import role informatics plays in public health and how her successes in California may help other jurisdictions as they embrace data modernization.
This Health Policy Update is an overview of policy strategies that states have taken at the executive and legislative levels to increase the healthcare workforce to more effectively and efficiently ...
Environmental PFAS contamination is a complex issue that requires leadership and input from multiple stakeholder groups, including local, state, and federal public health agencies, elected officials, ...
ASTHO spoke with Karyl Rattay, MD, MS, director of the Delaware Division of Public Health, about Delaware’s statewide plan to reduce infant mortality and improve birth outcomes.
In its role supporting state and territorial health agencies, offering technical assistance, and building capacity, ASTHO has committed to using resources and research literature to verify the status ...
Community health workers provide a wide range of services including advocacy, health education, patient navigation, as well as social-emotional support. Because national standards do not currently ...
States can use strategies like school vaccination requirements to help combat the spread of communicable diseases that have robust availability of a highly effective vaccine, such as measles.
Practice-based research is the investigation of a topic of interest in a real-world setting and the application of the findings in relevant programs, settings, or populations. Health departments ...
The newly-released second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans is timely - its emphasis on the significant increase in documented health benefits of physical activity dovetails ...
Many of the activities that protect our hearts also protect our minds. Recent studies have shown that lifestyle modifications and medical treatments are associated with slowing cognitive impairment ...
ASTHO and CDC's Maria Michaels outline how public health agencies can better intersect with healthcare to help ensure that clinical guidelines are implemented as intended and result in the ...
Hazel Dean discusses the serious threat to women's health presented by the convergence of syphilis and drug use.
Increasing and maintaining vaccine coverage is an important way to prevent the spread of disease and keep communities healthy. This post is an overview of 2019 state vaccine legislative activities.
As of June 2018, 49 states and Washington, D.C. have some form of cottage food law or regulation. This post is an overview of new state laws that address the production, sale, and regulation of ...