Author: Anna Guryan, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training, NNPHI

Utilizing assessment and surveillance techniques as foundational public health services offers significant benefits to health departments. These methods enable health departments to systematically collect, evaluate, and disseminate data related to population health and disease trends and create action plans for addressing significant findings.

By identifying emerging threats and disparities, health departments can effectively allocate resources and tailor interventions to meet the needs of their communities. Additionally, these data-driven approaches strengthen accountability and trust in public health services by providing evidence-based solutions to support decision-making.

Health departments can engage in assessment and surveillance by implementing various techniques. These include community health assessments (CHAs) that inform community health improvement plans (CHIPs), disease surveillance systems to track emerging health threats and stay ahead of disease outbreaks, and geographic information systems (GIS) mapping to visualize health disparities by location and identify resource gaps. The PHIG National Partners have compiled the resources below to assist public health agencies in strengthening their knowledge and use of assessment and surveillance in public health.

Resources to Support Assessment and Surveillance in Public Health

1. State Health Assessment Guidance and Resources
   ASTHO developed this guide as a resource for state health departments developing state health assessments (SHAs). It includes information and tips based on multiple state health departments’ experiences conducting a SHA. In it, four modules cover components of the SHA process, including identifying and engaging stakeholders, collecting and analyzing health and community input data, and summarizing and presenting findings.
2. Introduction to Public Health Surveillance
   Surveillance is a key function of public health, but what does it mean? This module introduces public health surveillance concepts and principles for public health workers with little or no prior training in epidemiology. Participants will learn about surveillance systems in local, state, and national public health practices, as well as how these important systems are utilized in tracking diseases and other public health threats.
3. CSTE Learn
   CSTE Learn is the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists’ (CSTE) online training center for applied epidemiologists. This platform is a one-stop shop for epidemiologists seeking the latest CSTE courses and resources for their professional development and training needs. Courses include a variety of modules related to disease surveillance and GIS, such as the Advanced GIS for Public Health Workshop.
4. An Introduction to Community Assessment and Data Collection
   Developed by the Region 4 Public Health Training Center, this course provides an introduction to community assessment, data collection, and sharing data findings. This is an introductory-level course designed to build competence in data analytics and assessment, as well as community engagement skills, in public health professionals, especially those in the governmental public health workforce.
5. Surveillance Resource Center
   Public health surveillance refers to the collection, analysis, and use of data to target public health prevention. It is the foundation of public health practice. The Surveillance Resource Center provides members of the public health surveillance community with organized, easy access to guidance developed by CDC and its partners for improving the practice of surveillance.
6. Community Health Assessment and Improvement Planning
   This article, written by the National Association of County and City Health Officials, is a one-stop shop for succinct information on the components of community health assessments (CHAs) and improvement plans (CHIPs). It defines the six steps of the CHA/CHIP process and provides a variety of examples of CHA and CHIP models.

PHIG recipients looking for additional resources and support related to assessment and surveillance can request technical assistance from the National Partners through the PHIVE portal.