This year's theme, Elevating Public Health Practice for Today and Tomorrow will explore how the local public health workforce and its stakeholders can move forward in the midst of an ongoing crisis while implementing traditional and innovative approaches to protect the health of communities nationwide. See brief descriptions of the conference tracks below and view the full track descriptions to learn about the type of abstract topics the NACCHO360 Conference Committee seeks.
- Track 1: Behavioral Health. Public health serves a unique role compared to traditional behavioral health services with its focus at the community level. This track aims to highlight the innovative, data-driven approaches used by health departments, in collaboration with other partners, to address behavioral health issues in the community and within their own health departments.
- Track 2: Climate Change. Rising temperatures, changing weather patterns, and other effects of climate change are placing human health at risk. Increasing threats to health include worsening air and water quality, increased exposure to vector-borne and infectious diseases, threats to food security, and increased mental health and stress-related disorders. This track will showcase what local health departments are doing to identify, prevent, and respond to climate-related health issues in an equitable manner.
- Track 3: Communications and Messaging. Local health departments can be instrumental in educating community partners and the public at large about health issues and empowering them to create healthier communities. This track will focus on effective communications strategies including use of technology and traditional media, advocacy, the role of social media, and how to address misinformation in a fractured media environment.
- Track 4: Leadership, Management, and Workforce Development. Assuring a competent workforce is an ongoing challenge for local health departments contending with shrinking budgets and resources, staff reductions, increasing workloads, and ever-changing public health threats. This track will explore what local health departments are doing to recruit and retain talent, achieve accreditation, educate governing bodies, and develop a competent workforce.
- Track 5: Health Equity and Social Justice. Now with greater awareness and urgency, health equity has become a priority in many LHDs as we recognize that inequitable health outcomes can be mitigated but not eliminated by conventional programs and services. This track will explore what local health departments are doing to advance health equity and social justice.
- Track 6: Public Health Policy and Law. Local health departments play a critical role in detecting emerging trends and developing strategies to address related public health policy implications. This track will explore how local health departments are developing public health policies, plans, and laws to respond to emerging trends.
- Track 7: Surveillance, Informatics, and Data Systems. In an increasingly electronic world, harnessing information to improve health outcomes requires optimal systems and cross-sector partnerships to access, analyze, and act on data in a timely, efficient, and secure manner. This track will showcase stakeholder efforts and explore how local health departments are using surveillance, informatics, and data systems to collaborate, establish new and enhance existing infrastructure, and apply necessary skills to improve delivery of public health services by getting data into the right hands, in the right format, at the right time.