Association of State and Territorial Health Officers (ASTHO)

ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing public health agencies in the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia, and over 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, formulate and influence sound public health policy and ensure excellence in state-based public health practice. ASTHO’s primary function is to track, evaluate, and advise members on the impact and formation of public or private health policy which may affect them and to provide them with guidance and technical assistance on improving the nation’s health.

ASTHO Resources

• Essential Policies for Chronic Disease Control and Prevention
• Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention web page – State and territorial health agencies (S/THAs) are key leaders in preventing heart attacks and strokes. Since 2013, ASTHO has partnered with CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention to support S/THAs through a learning collaborative to address hypertension. To date, the ASTHO/CDC Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Learning Collaborative has engaged 32 S/THAs in implementing innovative models to prevent hypertension through system changes and quality improvement processes.
• Tools for Change resource library
• ASTHO Challenge: Building Healthy and Resilient Communities web page