Health Promotion and Communication Team

The lead health communication unit for domestic and global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related disease in CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.

Mission: Providing clear, useful information on the many uses of water, WASH-related illnesses, and specific ways to stay healthy to the public and professionals in water-related roles.

The Health Promotion and Communication Team develops and disseminates information and materials for a variety of audiences. We work with all Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch teams and WASH-related groups across CDC to create and share health promotion materials, training and education tools, marketing and advocacy documents, and scientific information and data in a variety of formats. In addition to educating and informing the public, we also provide information and materials to state and local health departments, Ministries of Health, clinicians, researchers, industry groups, and other domestic and global partners.

Our team:

• Carries out health education campaigns and observances
• Creates posters, fact sheets, and other health promotion materials
• Develops and manages websites:
  • Healthy Water (CDC-wide website for accessing WASH-related information)
    • Drinking Water
    • Healthy Swimming/Recreational Water
    • Global Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene (WASH)
    • Other Uses of Water
    • Water-related Emergencies & Outbreaks
    • Water-related Hygiene

  • 

    Brochure on the global burden of diarrhea, which is often linked to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene

  • Handwashing (CDC-wide portal for accessing hygiene information)
  • The Safe Water System
  • Healthy Contact Lens Wear and Care (CDC-wide portal for accessing contact lens hygiene information)
  • National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS)
  • WASH- and food-related parasitic diseases
    • Amebiasis
    • Cryptosporidiosis
    • Giardiasis
  • WASH- and food-related bacterial infections
    • Cholera
    • Cronobacter
    • Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC)
    • Shigellosis
  • Free-living amebae
    • Acanthamoeba
    • Balamuthia mandrillaris
    • Naegleria fowleri
    • Sappinia
  • Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch
• Uses multimedia, social media, and new technologies to engage audiences
• Creates and shares training and education materials and opportunities for public health and medical professionals, industry professionals, educators, and other stakeholders
• Responds to public inquiries through CDC-INFO, healthywater@cdc.gov, and healthyswimming@cdc.gov
• Collaborates, partners, and holds agreements with public, private, and nonprofit groups to create and disseminate information and materials (for example, the Healthy Schools, Healthy People – It’s a SNAP! program in partnership with the American Cleaning Institute and pool chemical safety posters in partnership with the American Chemistry Council)

CDC podcast discussing the importance of handwashing

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