November 2019

Sickle Cell Disease Surveillance, Climate Change Indicators, Pesticide Tool Webinar, and New Staff

In this edition of the Tracking California Newsletter, we have news about our growing Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) surveillance work, new climate change indicators on our website, a webinar on our Pesticide Mapping tool, and new additions to our team. As always, we welcome your comments and questions.  Paul English Principal Investigator, Tracking California

Sickle Cell Disease Surveillance While much is known about the natural history and pathology of the disease, less is known about the demographics, location, and non-medical impact SCD has on those living with the disease, nor on the impact to the healthcare systems that treat those with SCD. For this reason, since 2015, Tracking California’s Sickle Cell Data Collection Program has set up infrastructure to conduct public health surveillance for those living with SCD. The goal of this work is to use data to improve outcomes by supporting and informing clinicians, community-based organizations, researchers, and those living with the disease. Recognizing the success of these efforts, we are extending our efforts by:   Expanding SCD surveillance in California → We will convene stakeholders to better understand the needs of the SCD community, gather data from new sources, expand our system to link patient data to conduct analyses, and increase the number of publications and reports on SCD. Building state-level SCD surveillance capacity → Along with Georgia (the other state with a Sickle Cell Data Collection program since 2015) we will share our best practices with teams from North Carolina, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Alabama, Virginia, and Tennessee to help build their SCD surveillance infrastructure.   The SCD community deserves a more comprehensive public health response to the disease and the medical and non-medical outcomes related to it; we hope to deliver that with better information and stronger community connections.These programs are funded through a combination of private, federal, and state funders who are committed to improving the lives of those living with SCD. For questions about this work, please contact Project Director Susan Paulukonis.

New Climate Change Indicators The California wildfires remind us that climate change is happening and that it will continue to have an impact on health in the state. To help prepare and reduce the risks associated with climate change, the CalBRACE program–managed by the California Department of Public Health’s Office of Health Equity (OHE)–provides data to better understand which populations are at highest risk. We worked with OHE to visualize their Climate Change and Health Vulnerability Indicators in maps and tables. For more information about the CalBRACE program, please visit their website.

Pesticide Mapping Tool Webinar

Our Pesticide Mapping Tool allows users to answer questions about agricultural pesticide use in California with maps, charts, and tables. On Tuesday, December 10th at 11a PST, we will hold a 30-minute webinar that on the Pesticide Mapping Tool that will include an overview and a demonstration of features available. Register for the webinar here .

New Trackers!

We are excited to announce the addition of four new staff members:  Catherine Carpenter, Data Analyst, joined us in November and is working on special projects on environmental health with a focus on spatial analysis.   Niani Coker, Program Specialist, joined us in October and is taking the lead on SCD program organization and implementation, and will also be working on health education and outreach efforts for SCD.   Sophie Horiuchi, Data Analyst, joined us in August and is working on updating and maintaining the Tracking California data portal, SCD surveillance data analyses, and special projects on environmental health.   Gina Solomon, Program Advisor, joined us in November and is working on extramural funding and will provide technical assistance on Tracking California projects and publications.

For more information about our projects, visit our website , Facebook, and Twitter pages! ‌ ‌

Tracking California, formerly the California Environmental Health Tracking Program, is a program of the Public Health Institute in partnership with the California Department of Public Health . Tracking California is part of a national initiative coordinated by the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program .

This publication was supported by the Cooperative Agreement Number 5U38EH000953, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.