Speakers wanted: Turning data into policy

NACCHO, ASTHO, and STIPDA Injury Prevention Conference Call Series
Turning Data into Policy

NACCHO, ASTHO, and STIPDA will be hosting a conference call on Turning Data into Policy on Wednesday, August 23, 2006, 1:30-3:30 PM (EST). NACCHO is currently seeking information from LHDs that have been successful in using data to inform and influence public health policy. Guest speakers from CDC and local and state health agencies will discuss their experiences with using data strategically to advocate for public health issues and persuade decision makers.

If you are interested in featuring your agency’s effort on the call, please email a 3-5 sentence description of how data was used to inform or influence policy.

If you would like to submit this information or have any questions, please contact Scott Fisher at sfisher@naccho.org by Thursday, July 27.

Outdoor Falls Among Older Adults

Older adults (45+) fall more outdoors than indoors, Li et al. found, as reported in the July 2006 American Journal of Public Health. Environmental factors, such as uneven surfaces and tripping on something, caused most outdoor falls. Almost half of falls happened while walking. Adults who were more physically active had more outdoor falls while adults in poorer health fell more indoors. Li et al. conclude that as we promote active lifestyles among older people, we urgently need to make improvements in the outdoor environment.

Does this study ring true for your community? Do older adults walk in your community or do they exercise indoors? What is your program or community doing to make the outdoor environment healthier? What should be done?