Health Information Branch

• Surveillance of Public Health – The Health Information Branch directs or supports almost every aspect of surveillance: monitoring the health status of entire communities and of sub-populations; identification of priority community health problems; development of new data sources to assess and evaluate health problems; and data interpretation.

• Assurance – Included in assurance is public health education.  The BRDHD conducts a multitude of efforts to inform, educate and empower the residents of our service area about health issues affecting them.  The Health Information Branch contributes to public health education in countless ways, by either providing it directly or supporting other Branches with funding acquisition, information dissemination and/or message development.

• Policy Development – Public health policy is determined at the state, county, and community level.  Effective policy cannot happen without valid information about the community and its residents.  Almost every activity of the Health Information Branch is conducted with the eventual goal of maximizing contributions toward public health policy at all levels.