Strengthening Foodborne Illness Surveillance and Response Capabilities in Harris County Using an Innovative System-Based Approach

项目总结/摘要 哈里斯县公共卫生局（Harris County Public Health）内的环境公共卫生部（Environmental Public Health Division） 负责监管约9，000间食肆，进行超过18，000项 2019年的检查，并为德克萨斯州哈里斯县的230万人提供服务。该司 不断努力保持一个强大的食品安全计划，并实施创新 减少食源性疾病的解决方案。 作为环境卫生专家网络目前资助的合作伙伴，如果资助一个 在新的周期中，我们打算使用赠款资金继续努力减少食源性疾病， 哈里斯县，德克萨斯州和美国。我们的长期目标是减少食源性疾病， 加强德克萨斯州哈里斯县和美国的监测和应对能力。的 根据我们的长期目标，总体目标是使用基于系统的方法， 加强食源性疾病和疫情的多个相互关联领域 同时确保它将最大限度地受益于食源性疾病的增加， 疾病投诉 具体目标是：1）评估影响食源性疾病报告的障碍， 哈里斯县，得克萨斯州; 2）实施和评估一项新的媒体活动，旨在增加 并改善报告机制; 3）创建一个新的程序，用于所有食源性疾病 疾病投诉和疫情调查，重点是食源性疾病风险因素 在受影响的食物业处所进行控制教育;及4）实施新的抽样策略 在调查食源性疾病时重点关注环境和食物样本。在 此外，哈里斯县公共卫生部仍然致力于协助所有多地点研究 由EHS-Net协作。 本提案中的系统方法意义重大，因为它试图改进 影响食源性疾病检测、反应和预防的多个系统 凝聚力项目虽然系统理论对食品安全领域并不陌生，但我们相信， 有可能增加到目前的文献和例子，证明如何系统理论 这种方法有助于概念化如何全面加强食品安全计划， 全国卫生部门。

Project Summary/Abstract The Environmental Public Health Division residing within Harris County Public Health, is responsible for regulating approximately 9,000 food establishments, conducting over 18,000 inspections in 2019, and serving 2.3 million people in Harris County, Texas. The division continuously strives to maintain a robust food safety program and implement innovative solutions to reduce foodborne illness. As a currently funded partner of the Environmental Health Specialists Network, if funded for a new cycle we intend to use grant funds to continue efforts toward reducing foodborne illness in Harris County, Texas and the US. Our long-term goal is to reduce foodborne illness and strengthen surveillance and response capabilities in Harris County, Texas and the US. The overall objective pursuant to our long-term goal, is the use of a systems-based approach to enhancement of the multiple interconnected areas of our foodborne illness and outbreak program concurrently ensuring that it will maximally benefit from an increase in foodborne illness complaints. The specific aims are: 1) Evaluate the barriers that interfere with foodborne illness reporting in Harris County, Texas; 2) Implement and evaluate a new media campaign designed to increase and improve reporting mechanisms; 3) Create a new procedure to utilize for all foodborne illness complaints and outbreak investigations with an emphasis on foodborne illness risk factor control education in implicated food establishments; and 4) Implement a new sampling strategy that focuses on environmental and food samples when investigating foodborne illness. In addition, Harris County Public Health remains committed to assisting with all multi-site studies undertaken by the EHS-Net collaborative. The systems-based approach in this proposal is significant because it attempts to improve upon multiple systems that affect foodborne illness detection, response, and prevention in one cohesive project. While systems theory is not new to the field of food safety, we believe there is potential to add to the current literature and examples demonstrating how a systems theory approach can be helpful in conceptualizing how to enhance food safety programs holistically for health departments nationwide.