USPHS Scientific and Training Symposium Environmental Health Officer Session CDC Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute May 25, 2010 San Diego, CA

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Environmental Health Environmental Health Services Branch

Achievements of Public Health 1.Vaccinations 2.Motor-vehicle safety 3.Safer workplaces 4.Control of infectious diseases 5.Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke 6.Safe and healthier food 7.Healthier mothers and babies 8.Family planning 9.Fluoridation of drinking water 10.Recognition of tobacco use as a health issue

Accomplishments Brookings Institute – Governments’ Greatest Achievements of the Past Half- Century Control of Disease Improved Air and Water Quality Food and Drinking Water Safety

Challenge Environmental antecedents to disease outbreak and emergence –Global climate change –Global economies, migration and trade –Urban to rural and rural to urban –Alternate forms of energy

Challenge United States Infant Mortality per 1000 Live Births and International Rank 1960:26.0(12) 2003:6.9 (28)

Health Disparity Challenge Infant Mortality / 1000 Live Births All Races = 6.9 White = 5.7 Black or African American = 13.6 Hispanic or Latino = 5.6 American Indian or Alaska Native = 9.0 Asian or Pacific Islander = 4.8

Challenge America’s Environmental Health Gap Environmental connection to disease not understood; fragmentation of public health system hinders response and action

Challenge Rebuilding the Utility of Health and the Environment: A New Vision of Environmental Health for the 21 ST Century..the local infrastructure for delivering environmental health is not working.

CDC’s EHS Strategy 31 external workgroups participated in development Over 150 organizations provided comments Partners include private and public organizations from all levels including tribal 6 major goals with objectives and activities

EPHLI Objective Enhance and strengthen the national environmental public health services delivery system by strengthening the leadership capabilities of the environmental public health workforce.

Health Outcomes Water SystemFood System Air Sewage System Solid Waste Disposal Vector/animal Influence Understanding Environmental Systems

The Public Health System

Understanding Systems A group of interacting, interrelated, or independent elements forming a complex whole A system is defined by the specific purpose it serves within a larger system

Science of Complex Systems Determines how parts of a system influence the collective behavior of the system and how systems interact Understand parts, the whole and relationships

CDC Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute Year-long learning experience All expenses paid 2 onsite seminars All other work / learning done by teleconferencing, internet and electronic means All educational materials provided by program

Building teams and partnerships Persuading, influencing, and generating support Systems thinking Problem-solving and decision-making processes Project – Outcome measure

Long-term Outcomes Enhance leadership capabilities of environmental public health service providers Improve the practice of environmental health Reduce exposure to environmental public health risk factors

Long-term Outcomes Reduce environmentally related morbidity and mortality Improve the health of the population Reduce health care expenditures

Long-term Outcomes Opportunity for environmental public health leader to interact and create a lasting network of leaders who will be instrumental in influencing the future direction of environmental public health.

Thank you for your attention

Solving Problems Without changing our patterns of thought, we will not be able to solve the problems we created with our current pattern of thought. Albert Einstein