Expanding the National Approach to Chronic Disease Education and Awareness

In 2020, Congress recognized CDC’s work with stakeholders to expand public health education and awareness activities that help improve surveillance, diagnosis, and proper treatment for chronic diseases. Congress charged CDC with establishing a new competitive grant program to expand and advance work with stakeholders on education, outreach, and public awareness activities for a variety of chronic diseases for which there is a clear disparity in public and professional awareness and that are not currently funded through a direct FY21 CDC appropriations line. This approach would strengthen the science base for prevention, education, and public health awareness for a variety of chronic diseases that do not currently have dedicated resources that would lead to meaningful patient outcomes. This 3 year competitive grant will complement or fill gaps in CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s (NCCDPHP) current priorities by supporting recipients for the following activities: 1) Data dissemination activities that support awareness for public health professionals; 2) Develop data collection tools to fill surveillance gaps; 3) Educational activities supporting public awareness; and 4) Educational activities supporting health professional screening, referral, and/or management. Collecting and disseminating reliable information on the impacts of chronic diseases (including social, behavioral, environmental, and quality of life aspects) is necessary to shape effective evidence-based clinical and population-level approaches for public health impact and health equity.