MA EPHT - Planning and Tools

Massachusetts Environmental Public Health Tracking (MA EPHT) provides resources on cross-cutting topics in environmental health to assist the public, planners, and decision makers.

MA EPHT provides resources to integrate environmental health into policy and planning. These topics are also important for data-driven public health projects, programs, and initiatives.

Childhood Lead Screening Community Progress Report

The Childhood Lead Screening Community Progress Report provides community-specific indicators of childhood lead screening and exposure. It also highlights improvements to physician screening, follow-up, and prevention. The progress report focuses on:

  • Awareness of the dangers of low-level lead exposure
  • Educating physicians on their role in preventing lead exposure by screening all children
  • Following proper blood lead testing practices
  • Educating parents on available resources

Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education (CSPECE)

CSPECE helps child care programs choose locations safe from environmental hazards. It offers free, voluntary property screening to prevent environmental exposures among children and staff. It also provides educational resources to providers and parents.

Emergency Preparedness Populations Planning Tool

Emergencies can happen at any time. They can be widespread or localized. Naturally occurring events can include hurricanes, floods, or tornadoes. Human-induced incidents can include terrorist attacks. Preparedness is a key to implementing effective emergency response and minimizing impacts to people, community resources, and infrastructure.

Within any community, there are residents with varied access and functional needs that may affect their ability to respond to an emergency. These populations may require additional assistance during and after an emergency, especially in the response and recovery phase of disaster management. Varied access and functional needs can include:

  • Physical and intellectual disabilities
  • Limited access to transportation
  • Special medical needs
  • Language other than English spoken at home
  • People who may have supervisory needs, such as children
  • Health conditions, such as pregnancy

The Emergency Preparedness Populations Planning Tool is designed to help emergency planners and local health officials get a more complete picture of the populations within their community to ensure residents’ needs are accounted for in community preparedness plans.

Flood Zone Mapping Tool

Flooding is a concern for many people living in Massachusetts. The Flood Zone Mapping Tool can help you learn if your residence sits within a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-designated flood zone or floodplain. If you know you live in a flood zone, you can better prepare yourself and family in the event of flooding which may occur from heavy rains, poor drainage, nearby construction project, or storm-related surges in inland and coastal areas. 

Health impact assessment

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a tool to identify potential health impacts and benefits of a proposed project, program, or policy decision and recommend strategies that best protect and promote health.

This section walks through:

  • Guiding principles of the HIA framework
  • Steps in conducting an HIA
  • How MA EPHT data can be used for HIA
  • Examples of successfully completed HIAs

Healthy Home Guide: What to know before you move in

The Healthy Home Guide helps buyers and renters move into a safe home. The guide provides information on:

  • Drinking water
  • Septic systems
  • Lead
  • Radon
  • Asbestos
  • Mold
  • Pests
  • Carbon monoxide
  • Outdoor air quality
  • Hazardous waste sites
  • Disease patterns

Additional DPH Resources

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