Connecticut

The Connecticut Department of Public Health Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) publishes an annual data surveillance report. The report describes trends in blood lead surveillance, including testing rates, blood lead levels, and programmatic progress. The report is published on the state CLPPP’s website and can be accessed and viewed digitally by a variety of audiences, including local health partners and the public. The surveillance data were published in the annual surveillance report (a PDF document) and were not available on a platform that was dynamic or in real-time. As a result, data navigation, visualization, and interaction were challenging for the end-user as the data were only updated annually.

To address these challenges, the CLPPP staff aimed to learn from strides made in COVID-19 data accessibility. Using a newly developed pandemic data platform, the CLPPP staff outlined a lead surveillance data plan that included more frequent data updates, analysis of seasonal data trends, and development of a data story rather than an annual surveillance report. In 2022, the CLPPP worked with agency partners to build a story on the new statewide open data portal.  Connecticut Open Data is the state’s repository for open data, with more than 700 datasets hosted on the portal. Users can identify the specific data they are seeking to review and then view stories and dashboards, interact with data, create their own visualizations, and filter data to find local information. The data story is based on 2020 annual report findings. This allows users to access the surveillance data more easily with improved visualization so data can be better understood.

The published data story can be viewed at the Connecticut Childhood Lead Poisoning Surveillance Report web page. The data story has been shared with CLPPP partners, including local health departments and healthcare providers. It has been accessed by the public, reporters, and policy decision-makers with over 1,000 views. Automation, story revisions, and seasonal trends remain future goals that will build on the success of this intervention.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by EH17-1701 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the CDC; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

In Connecticut, lead poisoning disproportionately affects children of color. Black and Hispanic children are more likely to have elevated blood lead levels (BLLs), defined as equal to or greater than 5 micrograms per deciliter, than White and non-Hispanic children. In 2016, elevated BLLs for Black children were 4.8%, compared to 2.0% among White children, respectively, and 3.5% among Hispanic children and 2.4% among non-Hispanic children, respectively.

To address this disparity, the Connecticut Department of Public Health Lead and Healthy Homes Program developed individualized media campaigns that focused on raising awareness of lead poisoning and increasing the screening rates among Black and Hispanic populations.

In 2016, the Lead and Healthy Homes Program partnered with the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission to conduct annual media campaigns targeting the Hispanic population. In cities and towns with a large Hispanic population, billboards, bus shelter ads, social media, radio, and television were used to promote lead poisoning awareness. The ads in Spanish and English directed the audience to call the Connecticut Lead and Healthy Homes Program or visit the website (www.ct.gov/plomo), available in Spanish, for information on health effects, when to have your child screened, and how to properly clean lead paint hazards.

Since the campaign started, the prevalence of lead poisoning in Hispanic children has decreased in Connecticut. Though the downward trend started in 2013, the decline in 2016 and 2017 exceeded previous years. The percentage of elevated BLLs in Hispanic children was 3.5% in 2016 and decreased to 2.7% in 2017. The percentage of elevated BLLs in Black children dropped from 4.8% in 2016 to 3.9% in 2017. Although the decrease in lead levels for the Black population is not as large as the decrease in Hispanic children, the downward trend is promising. The media campaign will continue, using additional resources to reach specific audiences on social media and internet media advertising.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by EH17-1701 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the CDC; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.