Minnesota Environmental Public Health Tracking Projects

Health and air quality

Breathing pollution, like ground-level ozone and fine particles (also called PM_2.5) can cause heart and lung problems such as heart attacks, asthma aggravations, airway irritations, and coughing. MN Tracking contributes to several projects of the MPCA-MDH Environmental Risks Joint Initiative in collaboration with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, to understand the effects of air quality on our health - and to improve both. Learn more about Health and Air Quality.

Heat vulnerability in Minnesota and Wisconsin

Because Minnesota and Wisconsin have similar climates, populations and patterns of heat-related illness, we combined our data and worked together to assess current trends and patterns, creating the Heat Vulnerability in Minnesota and Wisconsin paper. The findings will allow us tailor messages for specific audiences and continue to find new ways to proactively protect the health of all at-risk groups.

Disasters and tracking public health

Disaster epidemiology focuses on conducting health surveillance pre-event, during the event, and post-event to monitor the health of the population and provide data essential to improving public health surveillance and information systems post-event.

HIA: Data User Guide

A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is concerned with the health of populations. Many factors contribute to individual health, but many are environmental, including our air, water, food, homes, workplaces and communities – as well as the social and economic conditions. HIAs are increasingly used to inform decision-making processes for transportation, land use, climate change, and other sectors. Conducting an HIA requires access to high-quality data. Learn more about the Minnesota Tracking Program's HIA data user guide.

MN Public Health Data Access Portal

Public access to environmental hazard, exposure and health data is critical to improve the health of all Minnesotans. The Minnesota Public Health Data Access Portal (Data Access portal) provides information on nearly 30 environment and health topics.

Data are available online for citizens, communities, policymakers, and health officials, who then use the data to inform actions that protect health for themselves or in Minnesota communities.

Minnesota Public Health Data Access Portal

Related links

Using Environmental Health Data to Impact Public Health: Case Studies