Oklahoma

The State of Oklahoma received $350,000 through cooperative agreement EH21-2102 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 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 Oklahoma, contact the program below.

Oklahoma State Department of Health
Oklahoma Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
123 Robert S. Kerr Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Phone: 405-426-8311

Success Story 2023

Ensuring Blood Lead Testing in Oklahoma Through Data Linkage Challenge

Challenge

All blood lead level (BLL) results reported in Oklahoma are contained in the Healthy Homes Lead Poisoning Surveillance System (HHLPSS); however, only state Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) personnel have access to these results. Oklahoma has 68 health departments that serve 77 counties. Historically, approximately 20% of Oklahoma children receive blood lead testing through a county health department. Staff members at the county health department must contact the CLPPP staff for results, which takes additional time and may result in failure to obtain follow-up testing or unnecessary testing if a child has already had a recent test. This approach has made it challenging to ensure universal testing for children at ages 1 and 2 years.

Intervention

In 2022, the Oklahoma CLPPP worked with the Oklahoma State Health Department’s information technology (IT) program to create a data linkage to allow county health department personnel access to blood lead test results from HHLPSS through the Public Health Oklahoma Client Information System (PHOCIS). PHOCIS is used to track Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), child health, and child guidance appointments and demographic information. This new data linkage allows county personnel instant access to blood lead test results without having to consult the Oklahoma CLPPP staff. County personnel already use PHOCIS to enter all encounters for county health visits and do not require additional access or steps to view a child’s blood lead test results.

Impact

Improvements to PHOCIS, with the added linkage of HHLPSS lead results, has enabled county health department personnel to more quickly know which children require additional follow-up tests and which children have not received required testing. All 672,239 distinct child records are available and may be queried on demand. Since any PHOCIS user can view lead test records, WIC and county personnel (when WIC clinics are housed in the county health departments) may also view test results in advance for WIC clinic rosters. CLPPP personnel now have more time to focus on other lead poisoning prevention activities since they no longer receive requests for information on test results from local health departments.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by RFA-EH21-2102 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.

Success Story 2021

Increasing Capillary Confirmatory Testing for Kids in Oklahoma

Challenge

Each year, approximately 900 Oklahoma children 6 months through 6 years of age have an elevated blood lead level (BLL). If initial capillary BLL test results are 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or greater, the child should receive a confirmatory test within 12 weeks. A confirmatory test is necessary because capillary blood lead tests can produce false positives due to contamination. Before Fall 2017, the only acceptable confirmatory test for Oklahoma children was a venous blood draw (venipuncture) from the child’s arm, which can be a traumatic experience for both children and parents.

Intervention

Effective October 2017, the Oklahoma Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (OCLPPP) amended its rules to allow a second capillary confirmation for children with an initial capillary BLL of 5–9 µg/dL. OCLPPP developed a handbook detailing the new rules for confirmatory testing and mailed the handbook to 2,100 pediatric healthcare providers in September 2018.

Impact

Following the rule change and dissemination of the handbook, 130 children have received a second capillary confirmation instead of a venipuncture. Additionally, confirmatory testing for initial BLLs of 5–9 µg/dL increased by 6.4% from 2017 through 2018.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by NUE2EH001391 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.