ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTICE
ment into public health system architecture. Once a baseline is established it would be- come a routine process to monitor progress. Also, this approach would reflect historical trends that public health interventions with the greatest impact on populations have ad- dressed environmental factors (Whiley et al., 2019). In a pandemic situation, this ap- proach would rapidly shorten the time need- ed to build public health capacity to drive a whole-of-society response. Finally, the Australian CDC should em- bed a population-based management team (PBMT) approach along with a frame- work for implementation research focused on environmental health science (Burkle et al., 2021). A useful research template would be the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (Damschroder et al., 2022). This framework combined with PBMTs would ensure a range of dis- ciplines with no profession taking priority over another, as well as fully explore and understand intervention measures and their impact on all aspects of society (Burkle et al., 2021). The benefit of this approach was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic when Baylor University iden- tified the need to safely reopen in person to support the Waco community and stu- dents, sta, and faculty (Ryan et al., 2022). By combining environmental health with a PBMT approach to mitigate risk, Baylor University was one of a few universities in the U.S. to open in fall 2020 and sustain op- erations throughout the pandemic. As the backbone of the public health sys- tem, the Australian CDC should work to reinforce environmental health systems and services. Professionals in this field are based in communities, their training is interdis- ciplinary, and they focus on mitigating risk across all aspects of society. Further, the pro- fession demonstrates its integral role through the balance of tension that can arise between community viability and protecting lives. The steps outlined provide a foundation to un- leash the capabilities of environmental health in Australia. Ultimately, the steps provide a clear pathway toward a “world-class” Austra- lian CDC that drives better health outcomes for all Australians.
Environmental Science and Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Science Program, Baylor University, Waco, TX. Email: benjamin_ryan@baylor.edu. References Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care. (2022a). Australian Centre for Disease Control . https://www. health.gov.au/our-work/Australian-CDC Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care. (2022b). Role and functions of an Australian Centre for Disease Control: Prevention-promotion-protection . https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/ files/documents/2022/11/role-and-func tions-of-an-australian-centre-for-disease- control_0.pdf Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care. (2022c). About environmen- tal health in Australia . https://www.health. gov.au/topics/environmental-health/about Australian Tax Office. (2022). Salary and wage occupation codes . https://www.ato.gov. au/Individuals/Tax-return/2022/In-detail/ Publications/Salary-and-wage-occupation- codes-2022/?page=2#E Brooks, B.W., & Ryan, B.J. (2021). Building environmental public health back better. Environmental Science & Technology Letters , 8 (6), 443–444. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs. estlett.1c00391 Burkle, F.M., Bradt, D.A., & Ryan, B.J. (2021). Global public health database support to population-based management of pan- demics and global public health crises, part I: The concept. Prehospital and Disas- ter Medicine , 36 (1), 95–104. https://doi. org/10.1017/S1049023X20001351 Damschroder, L.J., Reardon, C.M., Wider- quist, M.A.O., & Lowery, J. (2022). The updated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research based on user feedback. Implementation Science , 17 , Article 75. https://doi.org/10.1186/ s13012-022-01245-0 Dwyer, S. (2022, July 20). Environmental health essential in an Australian CDC. Intouch Public Health . https://intouchpub- lichealth.net.au/environmental-health- essential-in-an-australian-cdc-sophie-dw yer-psm/ Environmental Health Australia. (n.d.). Knowledge centre . https://www.eh.org.au/ resources/knowledge-centre
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Corresponding Author: Benjamin J. Ryan, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of
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