H&S 5: PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT

UTAH WILL CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ITS CAPACITY TO MONITOR HEALTH STATUS AND IDENTIFY THREATS TO PUBLIC HEALTH.

Other Information:

• A 1988 Institute of Medicine report recommended that government's role in public health was to 1) assure delivery of quality health care, 2) develop health policy, and 3) assess the health status of the population. Utah's assessment efforts include regular monitoring of infectious diseases and environmental health hazards, surveillance of health events (e.g., births, deaths, hospitalizations), monitoring health system characteristics, and tracking population health status and progress toward health objectives. • Local health departments are often the front line for the reporting of communicable diseases and other events, such as signs and symptoms of exposure to biologic agents of terrorism. Utah's Health Alert Network (HAN) consists of a network of local, state, and private health providers who share information through instantaneous electronic transmission to provide a timely response to disease outbreaks, whether natural or the results of terrorism. • The Utah Department of Health promotes evidencebased decision-making by 1) improving the use of health information to guide health policy decisions and evaluate our efforts to assure the health of Utahns; and 2) affording access to public health data and information through its online Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health (http://health.utah.gov/ibis-ph).

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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