February is Heart Month, a time to not only celebrate our love for others but also the organ that pumps us full of life - yet heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the U.S. This post is an overview of state ...
This three-part report maps the public health capacities, assets, and resources onto the obligations and direction of Medicaid agencies and their managed care health plans.
This report synthesizes partnership, financing, and data-sharing approaches that healthcare, housing providers, and other sectors can undertake to improve health and housing outcomes.
States have identified different strategies to implement healthy eating approaches and reduce obesity at the school and community levels, as well as through food labeling at grocery stores and food markets.
The Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visiting program, which provides visiting services to parents with young children, is up for Congressional reauthorization. This post explores the importance of the program and why it should be ...
ASTHO interviewed two state health agencies (SHAs), two nonprofit partners, and one university partner that were heavily invested in state early childhood development policy about how their programs fared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amid so much uncertainty, it might feel naïve to make any claims about what the future holds. But it is in these moments that it becomes more important than ever to have beacons to guide us and give us hope. As we look ahead to 2022, ...
Flavored tobacco policy has changed rapidly over the past few months. In April, FDA announced their intention to implement rules prohibiting the sale of menthol e-cigarettes and flavored cigars, though it may take years until they ...
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children is a targeted public health nutrition program designed to support nutrition and health behaviors that reach low-income families. The program is funded through ...
Each year, ASTHO tracks and analyzes key legislation that impacts public health, and highlights the emerging trends for our members. While the bulk of the tracked legislation arises in state legislatures, ASTHO also follows legislation ...
Every year in mid-July is National Youth Sports Week—in 2021 it falls on July 19-23. It’s an important health observance because youth sports create strong connections with peers and caring adults, as well as promote socio-emotional skills ...
Though COVID-19 has dominated public health over the past year, other communicable diseases are still occurring at troubling rates. The CDC recently released data in their Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2019 report, showing ...
Two rising health trends are negatively affecting women’s health across the United States: maternal mortality (death from pregnancy or delivery complications) and severe maternal morbidity (mental and physical health consequences from a ...
A mid-session legislative update on five of ASTHO's top 10 public health state policy issues to watch in 2023: data privacy and modernization, reproductive health, health equity, strengthening public health agencies, and immunization.
Health providers have widely used telehealth to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 infection and to improve access to healthcare services thanks in large part to policy changes and regulations. This brief explores how state and territorial ...
This three-part infographic series highlights the results of ASTHO's 2019 ACEs capacity assessment tool (ACECAT) showing how agencies prioritize primary prevention strategies, have opportunities to improve selected partnerships to ...
As we celebrate National Rural Health Day this year, we are reminded of how important telehealth can be for public health and healthcare. Telehealth can minimize challenges faced by rural patients and communities—such as transportation, ...