At a glance
CDC 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 (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 California, contact the program below.
California Department of Public Health
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch
1615 Capitol Ave
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 510-620-5600
Note:
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 anticipatory guidance. 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 Anticipatory Guidance Materials for Health Care Providers and Their Patients 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 (CDC). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of CDC; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Success story: funding year 2
Collaboration with the Department of Justice in California to increase testing in areas disproportionately impacted by environmental health hazards
Challenge
The Central District of California is the nation's most populous judicial district and includes approximately 20 million residents in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. Among all census tracts in the Central District, 60% have three or more geospatial indicators of risk for childhood lead exposure. Geospatial risk indicators include a high percent of pre-1978 housing; proximity to a current or historic lead emitting facility, highway, smelter, small-craft airport, railroad, or speedway; or service by a water district with at least one known lead service line or fitting. These sources are often located near communities with lower household incomes.
The California Department of Public Health Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch (CLPPB) and the U.S. Department of Justice partnered to address environmental justice issues related to childhood lead exposure in communities with lower incomes in Central District counties that are affected by illegal dumping and soil contamination.
Intervention
In October 2022, the environmental justice coordinator began participating in a series of meetings to discuss the rights of communities disproportionately impacted by environmental health hazards, including illegal dumping, soil contamination, and childhood lead exposure. As part of these efforts, the environmental justice coordinator shared community-specific flyers (in English and Spanish) developed by CLPPB that provided information about free and low-cost blood lead testing for children in their community, the importance of blood lead testing for children, sources of lead, and ways to prevent lead exposure. The flyer also provided contact information for the local Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program for advice on healthy meals for children.
Impact
Since October 2022, 14 community meetings have been held with 292 people attending. Feedback from the community members and the environmental justice coordinator will be included in future flyers developed for the remaining communities within the Central District. This partnership provides an opportunity for the CLPPB to strengthen its commitment to health equity, reach new populations, and provide community-specific resources to improve blood lead testing rates for children.
Funding for this work was made possible in part by NUE2EH001447-02-00 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.