# 6002
Every few months I try to highlight the Public Health Practices project (formerly Promising Practices), a freely accessible repository of public health tools and strategies, sponsored by CIDRAP at the University of Minnesota, in partnership with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO).
This year Public Health Practices has broadened its original scope to include more than just pandemic response. You’ll find tools and practices that cover a wide range of public health concerns, including chemical, radiological, and natural disasters.
The About Us page provides an overview of the mission of the Public Health Practices website:
The mission of Public Health Practices is to serve as a one-stop shop for tools and strategies to respond to the health consequences of disasters and emergencies. Materials made available on the site represent concrete preparedness and response practices from state and local health departments, government agencies at all levels, and colleges and universities.
Features of Public Health Practices include:
- More than 300 public health practices in 9 categories of emergency preparedness and disaster response from state and local health agencies, community-based organizations, and colleges and universities.
- In-depth stories on how state and local projects were created, communications materials in more than 40 languages, and tools like job action sheets and media campaigns.
- Expert reviewers' commentary on a practice's effectiveness, reach, sustainability, feasibility, and transferability. Please note: expert review is only available for a select number of practices.
- A regular e-newsletter featuring our newest practices and other updates from the CIDRAP Public Health Practices staff.
- The ability to search for practices based on geography, available languages, and key topics in preparedness and response.
A brief sampling of some of the recent additions to their database include:
Recent Content
Recent Practices
Summer heat illness fact sheets in 12 languages help reach limited-English proficient populations
Background Extreme heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States, claiming, on average, more lives each year than tornadoes, lightning, rain, floods, and hurricanes combined....
In-language resources about winter weather and carbon monoxide address preparedness needs of new immigrant communities
Background While severe winter weather may be an expected challenge for people living in cold climates, new immigrants and recent arrivals can often experience significant difficulty in adapting to...
Dark Site Stores Emergency Communications until Crisis Occurs (CA)
One of the most common and useful tools in any crisis or emergency communication management strategy is a dark web site. This practice is fairly common in the private sector and has been used by...
Partnerships, tools, and tabletop exercise tackle preparedness, continuity of opioid treatment programs during a disaster (WA)
Background Every day in the United States, more than 1 million patients, on average, receive drug abuse treatment at some 13,500 outpatient, medication-assisted, and/or residential/inpatient...
Evaluation of flooding response leads to data- and image-based preparedness and response plan
Background Natural disasters can be sudden and unpredictable, causing various levels of damage to affected communities. Even public health agencies with a strong background in preparedness may have...
Influenza education program increases surveillance capacity among rural, limited-English-speaking agricultural communities
Background Rural agricultural areas in the United States are key regions for influenza surveillance in wild and domesticated animals such as pigs and birds. Public health and veterinary agencies...
Interactive, educational materials provide guidance for staying safe following a volcanic eruption
Background Preparing for volcanic (and related seismic) activity is an issue that affects a small number of states, but volcanic eruptions can also be accompanied by a variety of hazards experienced...
If you are interested in starting a community public health, preparedness, or response program - or one for a college or university - rather than re-inventing the wheel, a visit to this website could save you and your organization or agency a lot of time, money, and aggravation.
