Organizations
The CDC Foundation helps public health associations, government organizations, universities and research institutions collaborate with CDC on research projects and other public health initiatives. By tapping into the expertise of CDC scientists and the capabilities of CDC's state-of-the-art research facilities, these organizational partners are able to accelerate or expand programs to address a variety of public health threats, as in the examples below. Whether it is analyzing the impact of industrial chemcials on our health or exploring the effectiveness of insecticide-treated bed nets against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, organizations help CDC expand its field of research and reach specific communities more effectively with health messages and solutions.
Organizations may also help advance the mission of the CDC Foundation and improve public health by providing unrestricted support through the Annual Alliance.
How does your organizations’s mission relate to CDC’s work? To learn more about creating a program with CDC to protect health and safety – including addressing chronic and infectious diseases, injuries and violence, and environmental and occupational health concerns – contact the CDC Foundation's Office of Advancement.
Addressing Child Malnutrition
Step 1: Opportunity
Address child hunger and malnutrition in western Kenya – a gap that existed in CDC’s local health programs despite local scientific and technical expertise.
Step 2: Solution
The CDC Foundation helps CDC and the Global Alliance Improved Nutrition (GAIN) expand an existing partnership focused on protecting public health, building on a mutual interest in fighting malnutrition. GAIN funds a CDC study in western Kenya to assess Sprinkles distribution and measure the impact on iron deficiency and anemia in young children. Sprinkles is a multi-nutrient powder which is easily sprinkled onto food.
Step 3: Impact
CDC conducts Sprinkles study, enhancing its research scope and community reach. More than 200,000 packets of Sprinkles are sold by vendors in 60 villages in western Kenya, and approximately 1 out of 3 households purchase Sprinkles. Preliminary results show reduced iron deficiency and anemia among children, no adverse health effects and high levels of acceptance by community members and vendors. The study paves the way for a national scale-up and additional research.
Evaluating Occupational Exposure to Health Threats
Step 1: Opportunity
Leverage CDC's world-class laboratory science and biomonitoring capabilities to study asphalt paving workers’ exposure to a group of environmental pollutants in asphalt fumes.
Step 2: Solution
In an alliance with the National Asphalt Pavement Association, Heritage Research Group funds CDC lab analyses to evaluate and compare asphalt fume exposures among workers in Wisconsin, both during routine working conditions and when protective steps are taken, such as wearing gloves and respirators.
Step 3: Impact
Study results will increase public health and industry awareness about the health effects of asphalt workers’ occupational exposure to asphalt fumes. Lab results will help determine occupational exposures during asphalt paving, with the potential to improve safe workplace practices for the 350,000 U.S. workers who are exposed to asphalt fumes each year.
Measuring the Burden of Inflammatory Back Pain
Step 1: Opportunity
Add a new module to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the only national source of objective health data about the health and nutrition of the U.S. population. CDC is always interested in gathering additional data, but some modules fall outside its core funding.
Step 2: Solution
In partnership with the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network (SPARTAN), the Spondylitis Association of America joins with the CDC Foundation to fund a new CDC NHANES module that will measure the burden of inflammatory back pain and spondyloarthritis among adults in the U.S., such as ankylosing spondylitis – a form of chronic, progressive arthritis that causes back pain and stiffness and can lead to deformity in severe cases.
Step 3: Impact
Information collected by NHANES gives the Spondylitis Association of America objective data about the burden of spondyloarthritis, enabling stronger public policies and prevention strategies. CDC scientists enhance the NHANES survey by collecting important health data that might not otherwise be included and studied.
