Chicago

About the program

The City of Chicago 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 conducted during September 30, 2022, to September 29, 2023.

The strategies focus on community-based approaches for lead hazard elimination and emphasize population-based policy intervention.

To learn more about these efforts in Chicago, contact the program below.

Chicago Department of Public Health

Lead Poisoning Prevention and Healthy Homes

333 S. State Street, Room 200

Chicago, IL 60604

Phone: 312-747-9884

Success story: funding year 3

Partnerships and more accessible training help to educate healthcare providers about childhood lead poisoning in Chicago

Challenge

The Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP) advocates on behalf of children families, and health professionals in the state. During 2021–2022, staffing challenges post COVID-19 caused ICAAP representatives to have difficulty visiting healthcare providers' (HCPs) offices for on-site training about the dangers of childhood lead poisoning. Also, HCPs had difficulty getting parents to return to doctor offices for in-person check-ups.

Intervention

During 2020–2021, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) partnered with ICAAP to increase health provider awareness about the dangers of lead poisoning and the importance of avoiding lead hazards and getting a blood lead test when necessary. ICAAP used a combination of communication, education, and outreach activities to engage Chicago area pediatricians and other health professionals who serve patients from communities with the highest prevalence of lead poisoning. A CDPH case management nurse presented training and answered questions from HCPs on guidance around testing and retesting. The Lunch and Learn and at-large webinars were offered virtually around noon to make it easier for providers to attend. ICAAP offered online Lunch and Learn sessions for HCPs during Healthy Homes Month to educate them about lead hazards in housing. Lastly, ICAAP sent training announcements through CDPH's Chicago Health Alert Network to attract more HCP interest in training opportunities. ICAAP provided 11 presentations to 268 health care provider attendees. ICAAP's learning management system added lead poisoning prevention education, which was eligible for Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits. Presentations consisted of three webinars and an on-site presentation to Lurie Children's Hospital residents.

Impact

As a result of this partnership and new approach, ICAAP promoted National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (NLPPW) on its website and distributed postcards to 899 providers about CDPH's lead testing guidelines during October 22–28, 2023LPPW tools were marketed through ICAAP social media ads and generated 125,471 impressions. ICAAP promoted Healthy Homes Month in June 2023 through its social media channels and website. ICAAP and the CDPH Lead Program promoted upcoming presentations. ICAAP submitted an article about lead poisoning prevention to the Winter 2023 edition of the Illinois Pediatrician, which is an ICAAP publication for its members.

According to an evaluation survey from one of the webinars, all respondents indicated that the presentation met their educational needs. A total of 60% of respondents who claimed CME credits and responded to a survey, indicated that changes were implemented. Changes included speaking with parents about the importance of lead testing, ensuring that patients with high lead levels had follow up appointments, and educating peers about the dangers of lead exposure on child development. ICAAP will add new topics from CDPH case management to its webinars to attract a broader audience.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by 1 NUE2EH001434-01-00 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

Promoting the Chicago department of public health lead poisoning prevention program's redesigned webpage

Challenge

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) program operations by suspending in-home visits for case management of children exposed to lead and significantly decreasing lead testing. After the local pandemic-related restrictions were lifted, the CDPH Lead Poisoning Prevention Program developed a strategy to promote lead poisoning prevention for areas that had a higher prevalence of children with reported blood lead levels higher than 5 µg/dL, the action level for CDPH. Additionally, CDPH needed to improve and create new partnerships by promoting its lead poisoning prevention services. A lesson learned from COVID-19 was how important it is for public health messaging to be accurate and easily accessible.

Intervention

The CDPH Lead Poisoning Prevention Program decided to improve the program's digital environment, targeted messaging, and delivery methods. The lead program's previous website was not user friendly because there were no videos or downloadable resources, and the content was very text heavy, making navigation difficult. CDPH revamped its Lead Poisoning Prevention Program website while also ensuring that it followed the branding/publishing guidelines required of City of Chicago websites.

To improve accessibility and user experience, a vanity URL was created (Chicago.gov/lead). The content was updated, and the look and feel of the site was refreshed with vibrant colors to make it more appealing. The newly revamped website has information for healthcare providers about guidance to improve lead testing in areas that are high risk. The website added content such as videos, infographics, downloads, and other resources to make it more user friendly and easier to access thereby increasing awareness about lead testing.

The CDPH Lead Program successfully launched a media campaign in the Spring of 2022. The campaign centered around "Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning." It ran during Healthy Homes Month in June 2022. This was the first time that a CDPH healthy homes–focused media campaign included a lead poisoning prevention segment. The campaign ran on social media channels along with hyperlocal media outlets whose audience lived in areas with a high prevalence of children with reported blood lead levels greater than 5 µg/dL. Additionally, the campaign included animated videos from lead inspectors who represented the community they serve.

Impact

Nearly 2 million people were reached via the social media campaign. About 178,000 users recalled the ads on Facebook, and 17,000 ads were clicked through on Linktree. Linktree is a social media landing page for linking other social media content and applications. The number of calls to the City of Chicago's 311 request line and the Lead Program Hotline increased by 20% during the Healthy Homes Campaign. Hotline questions were about lead testing and requests for home inspections. This new approach to messaging, the media campaigns, and the revamped website will bring more awareness about lead poisoning prevention, as well as reintroducing the Lead Prevention Program to CDPH's stakeholders and local communities.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by CDC-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: funding year 1

Chicago collaborates on lead-based paint hazards

Challenge

The City of Chicago has approximately 8,000 children under 6 years of age living in privately owned, government-subsidized rental housing provided by the Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA) Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program who are at risk of lead exposure. Within 30 days of being notified that a child in the HCV program has an elevated blood lead level (BLL), CHA must conduct an environmental investigation. CHA and Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) must coordinate to ensure that children receive appropriate follow-up services.

Intervention

CDPH established a partnership with CHA to identify children at risk of lead exposure. CHA shared the names and addresses of all HCV-recipient children under the age of 6 years with CDPH. CDPH identified children with elevated BLLs on the CHA list and returned the information to CHA.

CHA conducts environmental investigations and enforces requirements for lead-based paint hazard remediation. CDPH will be the first jurisdiction in Illinois to do this on a monthly basis once the project has been established.

Impact

In 2018, CDPH identified approximately 150 HCV-recipient children with elevated BLLs and referred all of them for follow-up care.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by NUE2EH001376 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.