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Maggie Davis, ASTHO director of State Health Policy, updates us on movements that could reshape public health authority; Emily Fine, school and youth survey manager at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, discusses the results of...
Maggie Davis, ASTHO director of State Health Policy, updates us on movements that could reshape public health authority; Emily Fine, school and youth survey manager at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, discusses the results of the Healthy Kids Colorado survey; and a new ASTHO guide shows how health equity metrics help island areas understand community issues and improve health equity.
ASTHO Blog Article: State Legislatures Reshape Public Health Legal Authority
ROBERT JOHNSON:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Friday, August 16, 2024. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
MAGGIE DAVIS:
Some of the trends that we've seen to expand authority of our health officials has been in the realm of granting standing orders.
JOHNSON:
This past session, Washington state passed a bill that granted the health official pretty broad authority to issue standing order for a wide range of products or devices to prevent the spread of infectious disease or to address other public health issues.
JOHNSON:
This year, at least 28 state legislatures considered bills that would reshape public health legal authority. ASTHO's Maggie Davis tracks the progress of these proposals and says Washington was one of two states that took action to expand authority on standing orders.
But Davis says there are some legislatures that have considered an opposite approach.
DAVIS:
For example, the past several sessions, Kansas has had a bill to remove the enforcement power of isolation or quarantine orders and only allow public health officials to issue recommendations. This, thankfully, has not passed in Kansas.
JOHNSON:
Davis says the outcome was different in Utah.
DAVIS:
We did see a bill passed in Utah that really restricted the ability of the state health official to issue an isolation or quarantine order, and then also limited the ability for a local public health official to issue an isolation quarantine order to kind of a set list of diseases or under certain conditions.
JOHNSON:
Davis helped write a new ASTHO blog article about legislative actions impacting public health. You can read it using the link in the show notes.
Colorado wanted to know how young people in the state are doing, so they asked them in the latest Healthy Kids Colorado survey, more than 120,000 youth responded to questions about health and well being. Emily Fine manages the survey.
EMILY FINE:
Youth have been involved in survey content, including how we're asking youth about their identities and new topic areas. They've been involved in survey design, like our student instructions around confidentiality and how we're protecting their data.
JOHNSON:
The survey found the number of high schoolers who've experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness dropped by 14% between 2021 and 2023 the number of those who seriously considered suicide in the last year dropped by 6%.
FINE:
These results help inform the creation of programming to support student success. The results also provide direction to schools and communities around how to address health issues. Parents can use the results to start conversations with their children about their well being
JOHNSON:
Fine says the data provides adults with some clear takeaways.
FINE:
Analyses of these results consistently show that young people can thrive when they have access to protective factors, like trusted adults who can help with problems clear family rules and feeling safe and connected at school.
JOHNSON:
You can read more about the survey by clicking the link in the show notes.
Also today, health equity metrics can help Island area agencies improve health outcomes. O'Keyla Cooper has that story.
O'KEYLA COOPER:
A new ASTHO guide shows how health equity metrics help Island Areas understand community issues and improve health equity it offers a roadmap for agencies to create indicators track progress and address challenges with data, systems and infrastructure. Download the full guide by using the link in the show notes.
JOHNSON:
Finally, this morning, be the first to know about new ASTHO resources and other developments when you sign up for the Public Health Weekly email newsletter, there's a link to join the list in the show notes.
Before we go, a reminder also to follow this newscast on your podcast player and connect with ASTHO on social media. We're on LinkedIn, Facebook and X.
That'll do it for today. We're back Monday morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review, Morning Edition, have a great weekend.
