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Dr. Debra Bogen, acting secretary of health for the Pennsylvania Department of Health and ASTHO member, discusses Pennsylvania’s work to expand overdose training to many different populations; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO senior analyst for State Health...
Dr. Debra Bogen, acting secretary of health for the Pennsylvania Department of Health and ASTHO member, discusses Pennsylvania’s work to expand overdose training to many different populations; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO senior analyst for State Health Policy, discusses the part public health plays in helping transportation partners; and an ASTHO webinar will explain more about how TEFCA will help public health.
Pennsylvania Webpage: Department Of Health Offers New Training To Fight The Overdose Crisis
ASTHO Blog Article: Stroads? Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Stroads
ASTHO Webinar: TEFCA Overview and Perspectives from the Field
JANSON SILVERS:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, March 25, 2024. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
DEBRA BOGEN:
We have seen marked improvements in our prescribing habits across the state. We have had a 47% reduction in opioid prescribing overall.
SILVERS:
Pennsylvania's Acting Secretary of Health and ASTHO member, Dr. Debra Bogen, says Pennsylvania has been working hard to expand training opportunities in the state to more specific populations to help with overdose prevention.
BOGEN:
One of the new trainings is really to address maternal and infant health related to opioid exposure and use. The second is geared towards dentists and supporting their opioid prescribing. The third is to care teams and office staff. The fourth is to specifically to emergency departments, prescribers. And the fifth is to children and youth service professionals.
SILVERS:
Bogen says the reason they're doing more trainings is to reach more audiences.
BOGEN:
It's really how they might interact with people with substance use to make sure that they understand the impact that stigma has on people's ability to get into recovery and treatment. And we want to make sure that every healthcare professional is ready and trained to respond to the wide needs of the people they serve.
SILVERS:
Pennsylvania decided on which audiences to focus on based on data, and they're not done yet.
BOGEN:
So, we're currently conducting a needs assessment to identify unmet needs of prescribers. And based on those results, we'll put out new modules, but all of our trainings are based on evidence that we see in our program.
JANSON SILVERS:
You can find more information on the training programs by using the link in the show notes.
When you think of making roads safer for all people, you may think that's solely a department of transportation issue. But ASTHO's Beth Giambrone says public health plays a role too.
BETH GIAMBRONE:
It's a public health issue, because it does affect the people and it affects people in a multitude of ways. So, not just death or injury from a car accident, but being able to have the mobility to move around. If you have someone who lives near a major road, you've got higher chances of air pollution, you get higher instances of air pollution, particulate matter, and then that leads to other health consequences.
SILVERS:
Giambrone explains in this week's health policy update that while Departments of Health don't maintain the roads, there's still plenty they can do.
GIAMBRONE:
States usually can help collect information and disseminate information to departments of transportation, things like: motor vehicle crashes, bicycle injuries, pedestrian injuries. That paints a picture for those departments to see what is actually there and what they can do to alleviate and remediate that.
SILVERS:
One good example is North Carolina.
GIAMBRONE:
Back in 2023, their plan included promoting multimodal forms of transportation, and increasing the numbers of sidewalks, bike trails, and bike lanes as a way to enhance the quality of life of the citizens of North Carolina and encourage physical activity.
SILVERS:
Read more about how state health agencies can help transportation partners by clicking the link in the show notes.
Also today, a reminder that you can learn more about the trusted exchange framework and common agreement in an ASTHO webinar this Thursday. ASTHO President Dr. Steven Stack will join other expert panelists to discuss what TEFCA can do for public health. Register for the event by using the link in the show notes.
Finally, this morning, stay up to date on public health news and other resources. When you sign up for ASTHO's Public Health Weekly email newsletter. The link is in the show notes.
And before we go, a reminder also to follow this newscast on your podcast player so you don't miss a single report and connect with ASTHO on social media on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Janson Silvers. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
