Using environmental public health tracking to identify community targets for public health actions in childhood lead poisoning in Wisconsin.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: In an effort to improve the ability of local public health departments to target resources to the highest need regions, the Wisconsin Environmental Public Health Tracking (WI EPHT) Program worked to enhance its public portal to benefit the Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (WCLPPP) and other programs. The WI EPHT Program conducted this enhancement in collaboration with WCLPPP. DESIGN/SETTING: The WI EPHT enhanced public portal is the next phase of Wisconsin's ongoing efforts in environmental public health tracking. As part of this process, this new mapping application includes mapping capacity that provides information on childhood lead testing and results at county and census tract levels in Wisconsin. METHODS: The WI EPHT Program will update its public portal to have the capability to map data at a subcounty level (ie, census tract or zip code) for some data topics when such data are available. RESULTS: This tool is available to local public health departments and other public health organizations throughout Wisconsin as a resource to identify communities most affected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new guidelines with regard to childhood lead poisoning. CONCLUSIONS: The collaboration between WI EPHT and WCLPPP on updating and enhancing the portal exemplifies the power of environmental health data to inform a more accurate understanding of public health problems.