On Oct. 4, 2023, ASTHO responded to a Request for Information from the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee on the subject of improving access to healthcare and rural and underserved areas, including the island ...
Every year, ASTHO performs an annual environmental scan to identify these policy and programmatic priorities. The most recent scan occurred from June 2019 to May 2020. Through ongoing collection of data from a variety of sources—including ...
The 2020 holiday season is coinciding with a nationwide surge of COVID-19 cases. With great concern that holiday travel to see loved ones may exacerbate community spread of the virus, many states are increasing public health measures ...
As COVID spread through the country and infection rates rose in every state, many of the the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) received media attention for remaining relatively COVID-free. The USAPI’s unified response in the face of ...
In February 2023, ASTHO staff traveled to Koror, Palau for a four-day health equity summit and held workshops to identify, select, and prioritize measures for Palau’s health equity work.
The COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for an existing behavioral health resource—the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center’s Crisis Hotline—to become a household name. During the pandemic, the hotline became a lifeline for a ...
This how-to guide provides steps, tips, and templates for developing and maintaining effective partnerships within island health agencies.
Over the past several years, states and jurisdictions have continued to implement important policies to reduce tobacco and nicotine use, including increasing tobacco prices, expanding areas deemed “smoke-free,” limiting the sale of ...
Medicaid plays a critical role in providing access to health services for low-income U.S. citizens in the five U.S. territories. However, Medicaid financing in the territories has been underfunded compared to states. In this episode, ...
Palau's health ministry collaborated with its community to design indicators to better measure health equity in their jurisdiction.
Hearing the Hill astho, association of state and territorial health officials, opioid crisis, covid-19 funds, public health, public health data and workforce, american rescue plan, promoting health, drug overdose death, coronavirus ...
Collecting and sharing data are crucially important to improving health equity, because those datasets inform effective policymaking. Despite having some of the most challenging population health outcomes, the U.S. island areas are often ...
Establishing an Office of Health Equity or Minority Health Learn how to establish, structure, and fund a health equity or minority health office. A dedicated office of health equity or minority health can provide a focus on cross-cutting ...
Reviewing 2024 public health legislative actions in Island Areas.
When Beatriz Vallejo, the disability and preparedness specialist in Puerto Rico, first joined the health agency, she took on planning a novel program to share knowledge and clarify each sectors’ roles and responsibilities during an ...
Learn effective strategies for addressing workforce challenges in the islands, including geographic isolation and underdeveloped academic pathways.
This summary of our annual environmental scan identifies public health concerns and trends and health agencies’ top current and emerging priorities.
Spanish language version of "Embedded: Puerto Rico’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness Academy" blog post.
While COVID-19 is still present and ever-changing, public health professionals must also grapple with new challenges such as monkeypox, increasing firearm homicide, and widespread heat waves. In the wake of such emergencies, public health ...
COVID-19 has stressed the U.S. healthcare and public health systems and highlighted racial and ethnic disparities in pre-existing conditions and health outcomes. In this episode, our guests discuss how health officials can serve as chief ...