The CT Department of Public Health’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program is focusing an awareness campaign on Black and Hispanic populations in Connecticut.
Based on the Program’s 2016 Connecticut Annual Disease Surveillance Report:
- Black children were 2.4 times more likely to be lead poisoned as White children.
- The health disparity of lead poisoning prevalence between Black and White children increased slightly as compared to the previous two years.
- Hispanic children were 1.5 times more likely to be lead poisoned as non-Hispanic children.
To address the disparities, DPH is promoting lead poisoning prevention using billboards, social media, and radio ads in communities of color. DPH developed English and Spanish public service announcement videos and several public access television stations agreed to air the videos.
Further efforts are underway to engage these communities and promote lead poisoning prevention. These efforts include reaching out and providing lead poisoning prevention information to:
- Community Health Centers
- Low-income Housing Organizations
- WIC Offices
- Black and Hispanic community organizations
