Acknowledgements

The Epi Info™ Community Health Assessment Tutorial was produced by the collaborative efforts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Assessment Initiative (AI), and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH).

The CDC is one of the thirteen major operating components of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is at the forefront of public health efforts to prevent and control infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, workplace hazards, disabilities, and environmental health threats. Today, CDC is globally recognized for conducting research and investigations, and for its action-oriented approaches to issues of public health. CDC uses its research and findings to improve people’s daily lives, and respond to local, national, and international health emergencies.

The Assessment Initiative (AI) comprises a cooperative program between CDC and state health departments that supports the development of innovative systems and methods to improve the way data is used to provide information for public health decisions and policy. Through the AI, funded states work together with local health jurisdictions and communities to improve access to data, improve skills to accurately interpret and understand data, and use of the data so that assessment findings ultimately drive public health program and policy decisions.

New York State’s AI has been awarded a new five-year cooperative agreement by the CDC to strengthen assessment capacity and practice. This is the third round of AI funding offered through the CDC, and it is the second time that the NYSDOH has been successful in getting the award.

This tutorial for using the Epi Info™ software program has been created by the CDC Epi Info™ development team at the request of the NYSDOH Assessment Initiative, and has been designed using asthma data provided to the CDC by the NYSDOH.

Epi Info is a trademark of the CDC. Epi Info™ programs are provided in the public domain to promote public health. Programs may be freely translated, copied, or distributed. No warranty is made or implied for use of the software for any particular purpose.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Director, Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH

Chief Science Officer, Dixie E. Snider, MD, MPH

Associate Director for Science, Tanya Popovic, MD, PhD

Coordinating Center for Health Information and Service (CoCHIS)
(Acting) Directors, Blake Caldwell, MD, MPH and Edward J. Sondik, PhD

National Center for Public Health Informatics (NCPHI)

(Acting) Director, John Loonsk, MD

Division of Public Health Surveillance and Informatics (DPHSI)

(Acting) Director, Ruth Jajosky, DMD, MPH

(Former Acting) Director, Pat Schumacher, MS, RD

(Acting) Information Technology Branch (ITB) Chief, Robert Fagan

Epi Info™ Development Team:

Instructional Design: Shannon Rowlett Jones

Epi Info™ Technical Advisors: Karen DeRosa, Roger Friedman, Andre Swoope

ITB Advisors: David Nitschke, Carol Worsham, Marilyn Reynolds

AI Advisors: Alex Charleston, Nelson Adekoya

CDC Editor: W. Scott Janes

New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), Public Health Information Group

AI Advisor: Priti Irani, MS, Project Director, Assessment Initiative

Technical Review Board: Cate Bohn, MPH, Community Health Information Specialist; Aaron Mair, MPA, Public Research Specialist III; Mike Medvesky, MPH, Director; Trang Nguyen, MD, MPH, New York State Asthma Epidemiologist; Cheryl Ellemberg, MPH, former Research Specialist III

NYSDOH, Bureau of Communicable Diseases

Technical Review Board: Hwa-Gan Chang, PhD, Director Statistical Unit

NYSDOH, Information Systems and Health Statistics Group

Technical Review Board: Linh Le, MD, PhD, Research Scientist IV

University at Albany School of Public Health

Technical Review Board: Mike Zdeb, Assistant Professor

County Workgroup

Content Review Board: E. Oscar Alleyne, MPH, Epidemiologist; Cristina Dyer-Drobnack, MS, Project Coordinator, NYSACHO; Jan Herrick Director, Environmental Health, Schoharie County Department of Health; Stephen A. Jennings, Public Health Planner, Jefferson County Public Health Service; Patricia Many, BS, RN, Public Health Nurse, Oneida County Health Department; Joanne Ryan, RN, Communicable Disease Nurse, Putnam County Department of Health; Ted Schiele, MS Planner/Evaluator, Tompkins County Health Department; Christopher M. Szwagiel, MS, MPH, DrPH, Director Genesee County Department of Health; Karen Tuchman, RN, MPH, Public Health Nurse, Putnam County Department of Health