Jennifer Griffith,
Dr.P.H., M.P.H.

Jennifer Griffith, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., assistant professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) School of Rural Public Health, has been invited to present at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response Director’s Seminar Series, April 17 in Atlanta.

To assess hazard risks within Texas, a team of stakeholders from local, regional and state public health; emergency management; homeland security; health care systems; mental health services; and academia came together to develop the Texas Tool for Public Health Risk Assessment. This evidence-based risk assessment tool measures and ranks hazards and response capability and can be used for public health preparedness strategic planning.

The TAMHSC-School of Rural Public Health Office of Special Programs has worked with state, regional and local partners to develop a strategy for interpreting and using data from the Texas Tool to aid in interpreting and applying the results and to engage stakeholders in the mitigation planning process.

“This work is an excellent example of a partnership that integrates public health practice and academics with community engagement to mitigate risk from hazards,” Dr. Griffith said.

Lead investigator on this project, Dr. Griffith will present the team’s work to the CDC. State partner Bruce Clements, M.P.H., Texas Department of State Health Services Section Director-Community and Preparedness Section, also will provide an overview of the rationale and development of the Texas Tool, and regional partners will be available to share experiences from the jurisdictional perspective.