NJDOH Awarded CDC Grant to Modernize Data Analytics Infrastructure

The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) has been awarded a five-year, $80.5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which it will use to modernize its data analytics capabilities, build foundational infrastructure, and strengthen the state’s health workforce.

New Jersey aims to use the award to build on existing infrastructure put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light significant challenges facing our public health system that we must continue to address on behalf of residents,” said NJDOH health commissioner Judith M. Persichilli, in the press release. “As we emerge from the pandemic and look through the lens of opportunity, we will build on the progress made and continue to embed the innovative, data-driven approaches that we used during this health emergency to forge the future of New Jersey’s public health.”

Further, the grant will support NJDOH’s efforts to expand its Centralized Data and Analytics Hub, which provides data-driven insights to inform action across the agency and its partners; advance health equity through the Office of Minority and Multicultural Health; invest in understanding health disparities and address SDOH; and bolster the Office of Women’s Health and its reproductive health initiatives.

Additionally, the funding will allow the department to facilitate the recruitment, retention, and advancement of public health workers through new professional development and workforce planning efforts. This work will also help grow regional support for local health partners outside of NJDOH in building workforce capacity and related infrastructure, the press release states.

The funding follows another $116.5 million in funding awarded in November for the state’s county, municipal, and regional local health departments to support long-term health infrastructure improvements and create resources to address complex emergencies and public health priorities, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is the beginning of a very exciting new chapter for the New Jersey Department of Health and public health in the Garden State,” said Persichilli. “We have a great opportunity to build a more resilient health department with a robust, well-trained workforce, a modernized infrastructure, and a stronger system for a healthier New Jersey. Everyone stands to benefit.”

The funding comes from CDC’s OE22-2203: Strengthening U.S. Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce, and Data Systems grant, which is partially supported by the American Rescue Plan Act. The grant falls under the Public Health Infrastructure Grant Program, which is intended to ensure that Americans have the necessary people, services, and systems to bolster public health.

This is New Jersey’s latest project aimed at using analytics to improve public and population health.

In June, Rutgers Center for State Health Policy unveiled the New Jersey Integrated Population Health Data (iPHD) Project, which will help address some of the state’s most pressing concerns, such as the opioid crisis, COVID-19, and maternal and infant health.

The project seeks to establish a process for integrating health and other data from publicly supported population health programs to study health issues that affect New Jersey communities as a whole. By linking these data, the project will help researchers identify population health trends and other SDOH.

Researchers participating in the project will be able to request access to various types of health data, including information about births, mortality, hospital billing records, and COVID-19 surveillance, to study health issues affecting New Jersey’s population. The project’s current research priorities are the opioid epidemic, maternal and infant health, social determinants of health (SDOH), COVID-19, and other public health emergencies.