Though we’ve made progress on the number of HIV cases in the U.S, tens of thousands of Americans are diagnosed with HIV each year—a disproportionate number being people of color. In 2019, the federal government launched the Ending the HIV ...
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) has become more prevalent in the United States, with the hospitalization rate increasing from 2.9 to 7.3 hospitalizations per 1,000 newborn births between 2009 and 2017. NAS occurs in newborns who ...
This week might have marked the beginning of summer, but many policymakers and health officials have their eye on the upcoming school year and what that might mean in terms of getting students vaccinated against COVID-19. According to a ...
Conditioning school attendance on student vaccinations is an evidence-based way of maintaining and increasing vaccine coverage. State law establishes school vaccination requirements which apply not only to public schools but often to ...
Three ways policymakers are addressing access to care are through telehealth, safety net and emergency services, and adjusted reimbursement rates to Medicaid-enrolled providers.
To address the youth tobacco epidemic, jurisdictions filed lawsuits against JUUL to end their marketing practices aimed at youth and to obtain compensation from the financial toll experienced by communities.
A mid-session legislative update on five of ASTHO's top 10 public health state policy issues to watch in 2023: data privacy and modernization, reproductive health, health equity, strengthening public health agencies, and immunization.
A mid-session legislative update on five of ASTHO's top 10 public health state policy issues to watch in 2023: tobacco, HIV, mental health, PFAS, and opioids.
As the conversation about the importance of mental health continues to unfold, health agencies have a critical role to play in supporting positive mental health outcomes through nutrition support and food assistance programs.
ASTHO interview with Elizabeth Harvey, PhD, MPH, a CDC Senior Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Program assignee to the Tennessee Department of Health. Harvey shares her thoughts on the progress Tennessee has made on opioid use ...
States have identified different strategies to implement healthy eating approaches and reduce obesity at the school and community levels, as well as through food labeling at grocery stores and food markets.
This ASTHOReport highlights the public health importance of three harm reduction policies and practices to reduce overdoses: facilitating community distribution of naloxone, facilitating community distribution of fentanyl test strips, and ...
This brief outlines key considerations for state health departments to keep in mind as they create financing, data, and policy partnerships with behavioral health stakeholders.
Every year in mid-July is National Youth Sports Week—in 2021 it falls on July 19-23. It’s an important health observance because youth sports create strong connections with peers and caring adults, as well as promote socio-emotional skills ...
With data showing the number of the opioid overdose deaths escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic, access to naloxone, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose, continues to be an important topic for policy makers. The number of ...
More than 100 rural hospitals have closed since 2010, and an additional 25% are at high risk of closure, and COVID-19 has magnified the existing stressors on rural healthcare. As a result, states are using a variety of measures to address ...
Many states have introduced bills to strengthen and increase access to these prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services, building a solid foundation of care for women who must navigate the healthcare system and make difficult decisions ...
On December 11, 2023, ASTHO announced the release of the 2024 Legislative Prospectus Series, which provides an overview of anticipated policies and potential evidence-based interventions for policymakers, public health professionals, and ...
State and territorial health agencies continue to be challenged by the opioid epidemic, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing the opioid crisis requires a robust public health response, which could be helped by ...
Flavored tobacco policy has changed rapidly over the past few months. In April, FDA announced their intention to implement rules prohibiting the sale of menthol e-cigarettes and flavored cigars, though it may take years until they ...