At a glance
ob体育 supports California and other state and local health departments, or their bona fide agents, through cooperative agreements to support childhood lead poisoning prevention activities. Read about the program's successes.
About the program
The State of California received $500,000 through cooperative agreement EH21-2102 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ob体育) in FY 2022. The funds address childhood lead poisoning prevention and surveillance programmatic activities being conducted from September 30, 2022, to September 29, 2023.
The strategies focus on:
- Ensuring blood lead testing and reporting
- Enhancing blood lead surveillance
- Improving linkages to recommended services
To learn more about these efforts in California, contact the program below.
California Department of Public Health
1615 Capitol Ave
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 510-620-5600
Success story: funding year 3
Understanding health care providers' barriers to lead testing and providing anticipatory guidance in California
Challenge
In California, childhood blood lead testing rates have improved since the pandemic but testing rates are still 20% lower than before the pandemic. The reasons for this decrease are not clear. An effective tactic for increasing testing rates entails drawing insights from healthcare providers (HCPs) to identify barriers that impede lead testing and the provision of preventive guidance.
Intervention
In 2022, the California Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch (CLPPB) formed a Health Care Provider and Community Outreach working group to focus on provider outreach efforts. While CLPPB has offered educational webinars to HCPs in the past, there was new focus on attendees sharing information about barriers to lead testing and . This was done by completing surveys before and after the seminar. In 2022, a total of 721 attendees (including 161 HCPs, as well as registered, public health, and licensed vocational nurses, and managerial and administrative staff) participated in 28 presentations. According to HCPs, the top three barriers to blood lead screening and follow-up testing included patients not going to the lab (59%); more telehealth visits decreased family compliance with laboratory testing (41%); and lack of point-of-care blood lead testing kits after the Magellan recall (29%). The top three barriers to providing anticipatory guidance included difficulties with accessing materials in necessary languages, (43%); not having enough time to provide anticipatory guidance; and not knowing how to obtain education materials (29%).
Impact
Based on these findings, CLPPB created a suite of resources called and is distributing these materials across the state. The materials are for HCPs to use with their patients to help remind them to get tested, to track their test results, and to be aware of potential exposure sources. In addition, CLPPB is distributing a handout that offers providers guidance on anticipatory measures, actions for in-person visits, ensuring easy access to blood draws, reinforcing follow-up testing, and tips for telehealth visits. It also includes resources on California Health Care Provider Mandates and CLPPB publications.
Funding for this work was made possible in part by NUE2EH001447-02-00 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ob体育). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of ob体育; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.