NACDD collaborated with the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative to develop an RFP and select 12 participants from six state health departments to receive Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Training for Surveillance of Heart Disease, Stroke, and Other Chronic Diseases.

Participants were selected from the following states: Alaska, California, Nebraska, New Jersey, Vermont, and Virginia. Training takes place from March through June 2025 and will guide participants through completing projects that solidify their mastery over key GIS capabilities. 

Over the course of the training, participants will develop a set of GIS capabilities relevant to priorities for heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases within their respective state health departments. Also, participants will engage in a combination of virtual and in-person training sessions, including in-person meetings in Chicago in March and June 2025.

Upon completion of the training, participants will share maps within their health departments that display relationships between chronic disease burden, related risk factors, and basic needs for health and safety. Completed maps will support local priorities for the surveillance, prevention, and management of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases.

GIS training participants and other public health professionals are invited to join the Chronic Disease GIS Network (CDGISN) – a network comprising over 500 members that provides opportunities for health department and Tribal Epidemiology Center GIS users to network and share GIS-related ideas, strategies, questions, resources, and more. The CDGISN provides an excellent resource for peer sharing, a platform for thoughtful discussion among GIS users, and a way to communicate about new training opportunities. 

Please visit the Chronic Disease GIS Network to learn more and join.