The Maryland Environmental Public Health Tracking Project (MDEPHT), now in its 19th year, is a core component of the Environmental Health Bureau (EHB) in the Maryland Department of Health. MDEPHT is the primary tool for the analysis, display, and visualization of environmental health data, provides capacity for environmental epidemiology across the entire range of EHB activities, is a backbone of the operation and evaluation of the new lead and asthma home visiting programs for EHB, and supports other state and local environmental health services and programs. The goals of MDEPHT are:
(1) Promote state and local capacity in environmental surveillance: Through the new MDEPHT data portal which links health conditions, the underlying disparities and drivers that influence those conditions, and policies and programs addressing those concerns, increase state and local capacity to use environmental surveillance data to improve health, particularly for populations that suffer health problems and environmental exposures disproportionately;
(2) Enhance data utility: Using MDEPHT data and resources, build and apply tools for stakeholders to address priorities and disparities in children’s EH, climate change, drinking water and air quality, and injuries;
(3) Improve data access and interoperability: Develop data sharing capacity for EH services and EH surveillance that allows the state to use data-driven, efficient, and accessible systems to promote public understanding of EH and expand EH programs and services; and
(4) Increase MDEPHT awareness and use: Collaborate with partners and communities to use and improve MDEPHT tools and resources to better understand disproportionately affected communities, facilitate information driven decisions, and implement public health actions.