Making Public Health Tools Accessible to All

Concerns about cancer clusters, asthma rates, contaminated drinking water, or air pollution circulate every year. Yet many residents don’t know where to find reliable data, or how to interpret it. 

The CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network was created to help answer those questions. Its online portal brings together environmental data, health outcomes, and population information in one place. Public health agencies have used it to drive change. For example, in South Carolina, data from the Network helped identify 89 cases of elevated blood lead levels in workplaces, leading to inspections and safety citations. In California, it supported digital mapping of water systems to pinpoint areas at risk for high nitrate exposure linked to cancer and other health impacts. 

But until now, tools like this have largely been built for use by professionals only. 

With input from CDC, Megan Weil Latshaw, associate teaching professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, and Angela Zhu, at the time an undergraduate at Hopkins, built a new Environmental Health Data Tool Training, designed to shift that dynamic. The training makes the Tracking Network accessible to advocates and citizens who do not have formal public health training. Now community members, clinicians, educators, and local advocates who want credible information about environmental risks have a place to turn. 

The portal, originally developed with support from Shelley Hearne, distinguished professor of the practice in the Department of Health Policy and Management, can be daunting at first. This training guides users step-by-step through the portal, explaining key terms, data filters, and mapping functions. It uses a practical scenario to demonstrate how someone might investigate a local concern.  

For example, a resident worried about asthma in their county can locate air quality indicators, pull asthma hospitalization rates, compare them to state averages, and generate maps or trend graphs. The tutorial also points to additional resources, including deeper guidance on understanding disease clusters. 

While reaching out to officials remains important, the Tracking Network gives communities access to some of the same data that government agencies use. That transparency can strengthen trust and improve conversations between residents and public health leaders. 

Data helps communities determine whether local rates are higher than expected, whether trends are changing over time, and where further investigation may be warranted. That information can inform personal decisions and support evidence-based advocacy for policy or environmental improvements.