Meeting Dates: February 23: Pre-Conference Day (Grantees Only) February 24–February 26: Conference

Conference Overview

INTRODUCTION | PURPOSE | AUDIENCE | GOALS

INTRODUCTION | back to top

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is hosting the 2009 National Environmental Public Health Tracking Conference. The conference theme is TRACKS2009: The Future of Environmental Public Health.

PURPOSE | back to top

This conference will serve as the platform for CDC to officially launch its National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (referred to as Tracking Network). This is a nationwide network of integrated health and environmental data to be used to provide information in support of actions that improve the health of communities.

Since 2002, CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (referred to as Tracking Program) led the initiative to build the Tracking Network, drawing from a wide range of stakeholders with expertise from Federal, state, and local health and environmental agencies; nongovernmental organizations; and schools of public health.

The Tracking Program is a congressionally funded program. It funds 17 state and local health departments to establish tracking networks that feed into the national network. These state/local networks track national priorities, but also provide flexibility to address a health department's local environmental public health concerns.

The Tracking Program, with the Tracking Network as its cornerstone, is CDC's response to calls for better understanding of how the environment can affect people's health. Using information from the Tracking Network, Federal, state and local agencies will be better prepared to develop and evaluate effective public health actions to prevent or control chronic and acute diseases that may be linked to hazards in the environment.

AUDIENCE | back to top

Anticipated attendees are any person or organization engaged in the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program or interested in learning more about tracking. This may include representatives from Federal, state, and local public health agencies; Federal, state and local environmental agencies; Federal, state, and local policymakers: public health and environmental non-governmental organizations: academic institutions; professional associations; advocacy organizations; and community-based organizations.

GOALS | back to top

1. Officially present CDC's Tracking Network, an online public resource for integrated health and environmental data and information.
   
   
2. Share successful methodologies for integrating environmental and health information to guide public practice and policy.
   
   
3. Communicate important findings from environmental public health tracking or other environmental public health surveillance projects.
   
   
4. Strengthen collaborations to promote the Tracking Network at the local, state, and national level.