APHL 2022 POSTER ABSTRACTS
Expanding the Federal CARES Act to Require Patient Demographic Data for All Laboratory Testing to Advance Health Equity
J Sunshine , J Yuen , C Fang , S Di Lonardo and S Hughes , New York City Public Health Laboratory
Complete and comprehensive data is crucial for public health emergency response decision-making . The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the dearth of demographic data that accompanies laboratory tests and reports , hampering efforts to appropriately understand the burden of disease and allocate resources . As a result , the federal government passed Public Law 116-136 , § 18115 ( a ), as part of the Coronavirus Aid , Relief and Economic Security ( CARES ) Act , requiring laboratories to report on race and ethnicity in all data submissions to the US Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ).
New York City ’ s Public Health Laboratory ( NYC PHL ) evaluated completeness of race / ethnicity reporting for COVID 19 tests in NYC . Data from laboratory tests received by NYC PHL over two time periods from March 2 , 2020 – July 31 , 2020 ( pre-CARES ) and August 1 , 2020 – October 20 , 2021 ( post-CARES ) were assessed . PHL ’ s COVID data completion for race and ethnicity increased from 4.3 % ( pre-CARES ) to 59.9 % ( post-CARES ). Including reports of “ unknown ” as a completed data point , the completion rate post- CARES was 63.4 %. While the increase is promising , additional exploration and technical assistance will need to be conducted to understand barriers to reporting . There are various benefits to further disaggregating the data by including more granular race and ethnicity options for reporting . Within group variations can only be detected with greater level of detail . PHL , along with the NYC DOHMH ’ s Division of Disease Control , is currently working to align data fields with a more inclusive list of races and ethnicities . Locally relevant and granular categorizations can provide additional context for why certain trends exist and drive tailored engagement and outreach efforts . Race and ethnicity fields remain voluntary for reporting results for other , non-COVID , laboratory tests . Expansion of the CARES policy on data requirements has extensive implications and should be standardized across all testing types . More accurate , complete , and comprehensive data allows for more robust analyses , deeper understanding of health inequities , and improved clinical decision-making and public policy . This exploration demonstrates the impact of requiring patient demographic fields for laboratory reporting , which has the potential to advance health equity in both emergency and non-emergency settings .
Presenter : Jessica Sunshine , New York City Public Health Laboratory , jsunshine @ health . nyc . gov
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Career Pathways : Become a Public Health Hero
B Pope 1 , M Marsico 2 , M Diggle 3 , E Bair 4 , S Satheshkumar Panayampalli 5 , E Mccuthen 6 , S Emery 2 , J Valdez 7 , S Giatpaiboon 8 , K Shah 2 ; 1 Indiana Public Health Laboratory , 2 Association of Public Health Laboratories , 3 Alberta Precision Labs , 4 South Carolina Public Health Laboratory , 5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ,
6
Nebraska Public Health Laboratory , 7 San Bernardino Public Health Laboratory , 8 California EPA
Background : Currently amid a global pandemic and the pressing need for a sustainable public health workforce , there is a lack of qualified staff available for work in public health laboratories ( PHLs ). Despite the attention brought to PHLs during the COVID-19 pandemic , the extensiveness of work provided by them remains unclear to many . The workforce required to support these activities must contain diverse yet highly skilled and qualified individuals from several disciplines . Though the world has begun to understand the role of PHLs in response to an outbreak , the breadth of work and the opportunities available in their field of work are widely unknown . This lack of awareness leads to PHLs struggling with recruitment of the qualified PHL professionals to meet program needs . Cohort 14 of APHL ’ s Emerging Leader Program aims to develop a series of short videos showcasing different PHLs around the country and what they do to promote professional opportunities in PHLs .
Methods : In fall 2021 , APHL ’ s Emerging Leaders Program Cohort 14 included a diverse group of 10 public health professionals , including representatives from US state and local PHLs , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Alberta Provincial Laboratory , and APHL . We propose to support the need for a sustainable public health workforce through the creation of four 20 – 60 second videos which will be created at PHLs across the country . These short videos will be focused on Environmental and Food Testing , Infectious Diseases , Newborn Screening , Laboratory Response Network , and Informatics and will be shot from the approach of encouraging individuals to become a “ Public Health Hero .” The target audience of these videos will be Generation Z , individuals from science , technology , engineering and mathematics ( STEM ) programs and will focus on how PHL work affects daily lives . Fifty-four percent of Generation Z are currently in STEM degrees and have a high rate of electronic media consumption .
Results : Two of these four videos will be completed by the APHL annual conference in May 2022 and shared with attendees , who consist of current public health professionals . Release of this video during this event has the potential to improve currently declining workplace satisfaction due to stressors placed on PHLs during the pandemic . In addition , this coincides with the traditional end of the academic year , which is when the target audience is likely to begin searching for available jobs . The remaining videos will be completed by the end of 2022 . The final videos will be marketed using hashtags and QR codes and are intended for upload on social media sites .
Conclusion : To build a stronger public health workforce , these videos will promote opportunities in PHLs , such as internships , fellowships and other careers , ultimately leading to an increase in valued individuals committed in their support of PHL services .
Presenter : Brian Pope , Indiana Public Health Laboratory , bpope1 @ isdh . in . gov
Quality Systems / Workforce Development