In January 2017, NACCHO released findings from the 2016 National Profile of Local Health Departments, a comprehensive survey of local health department (LHD) infrastructure and practice. This newest data was provided by 76% of all LHDs across the United States who responded to the 2016 Profile survey and helped us present a complete and accurate overview of LHD funding, workforce, programs, and partnerships.

Now, a new research brief has just been released to highlight key findings from the 2016 Profile study related to LHD environmental health activities. This Environmental Health one-pager resource can help public health officials illustrate the role of their LHD in advancing local environmental health and how these activities contribute to the overall health and safety of their community. Among the study findings, environmental health is third most common occupation in LHDs, with environmental health workers making up 10% of the entire workforce. Findings also indicated that although 76% of LHDs employ environmental health workers, the total number of environmental health staff has decreased by over 2,000 individuals since 2008. The one-pager also provides a snapshot of common LHD activities, policy and direct services, related to environmental health. Click here to view the full one-pager. More findings can be found on the NACCHO Profile website, and additional inquiries can be emailed to [email protected].