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 spread of communicable diseases. This ...
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 closure of many businesses and nonprofit ...
On Nov. 19, 2020, ASTHO released a statement warning that because of an exponential increase in new infections of COVID-19 nationwide, government officials will have to significantly adjust their response activities to prevent new ...
On Oct. 15, 2020, ASTHO and the Association of Immunization Managers released a statement urging Congress to provide emergency supplemental funding for COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration.
As COVID-19 spread across the country, governors and health officials invoked their emergency powers to order physical distancing measures designed to reduce social interactions and slow the spread of the disease. Several of these ...
This infographic outlines recommendations for how PQCs can promote breastfeeding through quality improvement strategies, and includes examples of three state PQCs that have improved policies, procedures, and practices to better support ...
ASTHO supports, equips, and advocates for state and territorial health officials in their work of advancing the public’s health and well-being by providing capacity building and technical assistance in a variety of topic areas.
Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was declared a public health emergency by United States authorities in January 2020, ASTHO has been working with our members, federal agencies, and association partners to ensure state ...
On March 27, 2020, ASTHO and several partner organization released a statement applauding Congress for its commitment to public health data modernization in the CARES Act.
On April 29, 2020, ASTHO and the National Coalition of STD Directors announced Making Contact, a new course to prepare new contact tracers for their work of helping identify COVID-19 positive cases and those with whom they have been in ...
On April 16, 2020, ASTHO CEO Michael Fraser issued a statement praising the findings of a Trust for America's Health report, The Impact of Chronic Underfunding on America’s Public Health System: Trends, Risks and Recommendations, 2020.
On Feb. 3, 2020, Nathaniel Smith, MD, MPH, ASTHO president and secretary of health for Arkansas, released a statement in response to new CDC data, indicating that life expectancy in the U.S. rose for the first time in four years.
On this episode, we speak with two public health veterans who led state health departments during times of public health uncertainty—like H1N1 and Ebola. Our guests discuss the lessons they learned during trying times, the advice they’d ...
On March 23, 2020, ASTHO issued a statement welcoming former Louisiana state health official J.T. Lane, MPH as the ogranization's new Chief Population Health and Innovation Officer.
Increasing and maintaining vaccine coverage is an important way to prevent the spread of disease and keep communities healthy. Efforts to reduce COVID-19 transmission, such as social distancing, led to fewer people seeking non-urgent ...
In 2017, nearly 64,000 children under six had elevated blood lead levels as defined by the CDC. There is no safe blood lead level in children, and even low levels of lead have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic ...
State and territorial health leaders are thinking long-term about how policy changes made as a response to the pandemic might be continued to support vulnerable populations. During this episode, public health experts discuss how states and ...
Leading a governmental health department is a complex job during the best of times, but particularly so during a pandemic when leaders must navigate every step carefully. In this episode, our guests introduce and discuss a concept called ...
This brief focuses on how telehealth expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic has increased access to care for pregnant and postpartum women, and made maternal and child health care services like doulas and midwives more accessible.
In February 2019, ASTHO surveyed its members to understand how data is being utilized to address these harms in their jurisdictions. This brief summarizes the results of this survey and highlights data-based approaches used to address four ...