Workgroups

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Health Policy and Environmental Change Workgroup

Chair: TBN
DHPE Staff: Rose Marie Matulionis, MSPH

Purpose/Mission:

This work group was originally created to plan and oversee research on state and public health efforts to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases through population based initiatives. The research was completed by contractor Strategic Health Systems. A monograph was published with recommendations for future initiatives.

This monograph, entitled Policy and Environmental Change: New Directions in Public Health, provides the first thorough review of state public health efforts to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases from a systems approach that affects large populations simultaneously, rather than focusing interventions at the individual level. The report provides recommendations for public health department capacity building to engage in policy and environmental change interventions and established this approach as the next major step forward in the effort to reduce the staggering impact of chronic disease - an approach that will require the active participation of many community partners outside of public health. The report findings include critical factors for success, roles, and unique issues for health department and conclusions about the state-of-the-art.

At present the work group's role is to develop actions related to the recommendations in the report.

Workgroup Members:

• Neil Hann, Oklahoma
• Donna Nichols, Texas
• Joan Stine, Maryland
• Nancy Berger, Connecticut
• Debbie Dameron, Vermont
• Terrie Sterling, CDC
• John Korn, CDC