Coordination News

Case Study: Promoting and Expanding Coverage for the National Diabetes Prevention Program in Colorado

States can prevent costly and devastating diseases by helping people who have prediabetes avoid type 2 diabetes. CDC-recognized lifestyle change programs operating under the framework of the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke among people with prediabetes. The Colorado case study [PDF – 212 KB] shows how state officials can support the growth and sustainability of the National DPP.

  California’s Chronic Disease Prevention Messaging Toolkit

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) developed a Chronic Disease Prevention Messaging Toolkit to help local health departments and community-based organizations write and publish compelling chronic disease prevention messages. The Messaging Toolkit and the unifying tagline “Lifetime of Wellness” were created with input from CDPH staff and external partners through qualitative marketing research. It includes downloadable storytelling forms and templates.

In 2014, the Messaging Toolkit received a Silver Award in Excellence in Public Health Communication from the National Public Health Information Coalition (category: Webcasts/Podcasts/Web-based Training — Internet/New Media).

Case Study: The Effect of Expanding Cessation Coverage—The Massachusetts Medicaid Cessation Benefit

States can design and implement tobacco cessation benefits through Medicaid that are accessible, affordable, and cover all evidence-based cessation treatments including counseling and medications. This case study [PDF – 937.33 KB]  from Massachusetts explains how providing a broad cessation benefit through Medicaid can increase use of evidence-based cessation treatments, reduce smoking rates, improve health outcomes, and lower medical costs over a short period. The MassHealth cessation benefit had a major effect on all of these outcomes even though it was made available to a vulnerable, underserved, low-income population traditionally viewed as hard to reach. The lack of comprehensive Medicaid cessation coverage in most states represents a major missed opportunity to improve health outcomes in a vulnerable population while reducing health care costs.

ASTHO Launches StatePublicHealth.org Blog

Did you know that the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) has a public health blog? The blog’s purpose is to communicate credible, timely information on issues important to state and territorial public health, and to show the relevance and effectiveness of state and territorial public health agencies.

New information is posted several times a week. Topics include the innovative work of states and territories to improve health and wellness, as well as news of the day of interest to public health professionals. To follow the blog, readers may subscribe to an RSS feed or visit the ASTHO website.

Updated Revisions to the Chronic Disease Indicators (CDI)

The chronic disease indicators (CDI) are a set of surveillance indicators developed by consensus among CDC, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). CDI enables public health professionals and policy makers to retrieve uniformly defined state and selected metropolitan data for chronic diseases and risk factors that have a substantial effect on public health.

CDI has recently increased from 73 to 124 indicators in the following 18 topic groups: alcohol; arthritis; asthma; cancer; cardiovascular disease; chronic kidney disease; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; diabetes; immunization; nutrition, physical activity, and weight status; oral health; tobacco; overarching conditions; disability; mental health; older adults; reproductive health; and school health. CDI includes 22 indicators of system and environmental change. The 124 indicators include 201 individual measures, many of which overlap multiple chronic disease topic areas or are specific to a certain sex or age group.