University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Academic Partner for Excellence in Environ

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University of PittsburghGraduate School of
Public Health Academic Partner for Excellence in
Environmental Public Health Tracking (UPACE-EPHT)

• Evelyn Talbott, Dr. P.H., MPH
• Beyond Host-Agent-Environment

April 18, 2007
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National Environmental Public Health Tracking
Network

• Institute of Medicine (1988) noted that the
  removal of environmental health authority from
  public health agencies has led to fragmented
  responsibility, lack of coordination, and
  inadequate attention to the health dimensions of
  environmental problems.
• In 2001, the Pew Environmental Health Commission
  issued the report Americas Environmental Health
  Gap Why the Country Needs a Nationwide Health
  Tracking Network, which stated that the
  existing environmental health system is neither
  adequate nor well organized, recommended the
  creation of a Nationwide Health Tracking Network
  for disease and exposures.

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National Environmental Public Health Tracking
Network

• In fiscal year 2002, Congress provided CDC with
  funding of 17.5 million to do the following
• begin developing a nationwide environmental
  public health tracking network
• develop capacity in environmental health within
  state and local health departments.
• Several state and local health departments,
  including PADOH and ACHD, were funded to build
  capacity in environmental health

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University of Pittsburgh/ Drexel
Environmental Public Health Academic Partner
(Consortium)

• Epidemiology
• Evelyn Talbott, Dr. P.H. MPH (PI)
• Jeanne Zborowski, Ph.D ,MS (Co-PI)
• Environmental Exposures
• Conrad Volz, Dr.P.H.
• Arthur Frank, M.D., Ph.D. (Drexel)
• Hernando Perez, Ph.D., M.P.H. (Drexel)
• Bernard Goldstein, M.D. (Dean, GSPH)
• Data Linkage/Statistical Algorithms and Analysis
• Richard Bilonick, Ph.D.
• Gary Marsh, Ph.D.
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Spatial
  Data Analysis
• Ravi Sharma, Ph.D. B.Parmanto,PHD
• Xiaohui Xu, M.P.H. (Ph.D. candidate)
• Center for Environmental Oncology
• Devra Davis, Ph.D. (Director)

• Center for Healthy Environments and Communities
• Robbie Ali, M.D. (Director)
• Global Health Network
• Ronald LaPorte, Ph.D. (Director)
• U of P/Drexel Public Health Alliance Staff Jean
  Lennon, C.M.A.,
• Judy Rager, M.P.H,
• Juley Rycheck-Stragand, MPH
• Current Collaborators
• Allegheny County (PA) Health Department Bruce
  Dixon, M.D., Director, Gerald Barron, M.P.H.,
  Deputy Director, Luann Brink, Ph.D., Jo Ann Glad,
  M.P.H.
• PA Department of Health James Logue, Dr.P.H.,
  M.P.H., Director Environmental Epidemiology

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University of Pittsburgh/Drexel UPACE-EPHT Team
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Environmental Public Health Tracking
Network Data Acquisition and Linkage The
Challenge
Hazard databases TRI, EPA air toxics, water
quality measures, etc.

Exposure databases Biomonitoring
information- Blood lead, arsenic, mercury, etc.
Health outcomes databases Mortality, morbidity
(admissions, ED visits, office visits,
medication usage, etc)
Data linkage strategies
Evaluate associations
Direct Research and Interventions
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University of Pittsburgh/Drexel University
Environmental Public Health Academic Partner
(Consortium) Overview

• uniquely positioned to broaden resource
  coverage for public health agencies in the
  northeastern corridor and across the nation
• and to act as an academic partner in a local,
  state, regional and national initiative to
  facilitate environmental capacity building, to
  evaluate existing surveillance methodologies and
  to develop and/or extend innovative strategies
  and tools to link hazards, exposures and health
  effects databases.
• participate in the development and/or
  modification of easily accessible, web-based
  applications for environmental health tracking,
  disease surveillance and data linkage by public
  health agency personnel

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Environmental Interests(Abbreviated)

• Three Mile Island Long-Term Health Effects
  20-Year Follow-Up
• Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUSTs)
  Benzene and Leukemia Risk (Local Municipalities)
• Coal-Fired Power Plants, Speciated PM2.5, and
  Health Effects in the Pittsburgh Region (DOE)
• Adult and Childhood Asthma and Ambient Air
  Pollution in Allegheny County, PA (ACHD)
• Arsenic Exposure from Contaminated Wells
  Biomonitoring and Chronic Disease Associations
  (PADOH, USGS)

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Proposed Environmental System Modeling for
Asthma General Schematic
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Mary E. Northridge, PhD, MPH Mailman School of
Public Health, Columbia University Editor-in-Chief
, American Journal of Public Health
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Conceptual Frameworkfor study of environmental
influences for chronic disease
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