Roadway safety is no accident – May is Trauma Awareness Month
The theme of this year’s National Trauma Awareness Month (observed annually in May) is Roadway Safety is No Accident. The Arizona Department of Health Services’ Bureau of EMS and Trauma System and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) are joining forces to spread the message that Prevention is Key: Safety is a Choice. According to the Arizona Department of [...]
Keep your cool when the heat builds this summer
Summer is right around the corner, and it’s time to get ready for the sweltering heat season from May to September, when Arizona becomes one of the hottest places on earth. No one is risk-free when it comes to deadly summer heat. Arizona hospitals saw an annual average of 2,858 heat related emergency department visits and 582 deaths from 2018 [...]
Nurses are vital to the health of all Arizonans
At the Arizona Department of Health Services, our nurses are involved in the prevention, education, advocacy, activism, assessment, and evaluation of public health across our state. They play an essential role in preventing disease and educating the public to promote communities’ health and safety. We’re proud to have nurses in Newborn Screening who work to follow up with families regarding [...]
Public Health Week: Improving public health across our state
As Arizona's statewide public health agency, we spent much of last week celebrating National Public Health Week by focusing on you and your community, wherever you are in Arizona. Our hope was to draw more attention to the issues that are important to improving the public's health and the power of community across our state. The overall message - Centering [...]
ADHS initiatives are working to improve healthcare access in Arizona’s most rural communities
Fourteen percent of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, in Arizona that number is much higher at 25%, likely due to the landscape and environment we live in. USDA Economic Research Service found that residents living in the United States’ most rural counties may have more difficulty finding and using health care services in comparison to their counterparts in [...]
How Arizona is using data and community feedback to help address mental health in our state
Like physical health, mental health is important throughout the lifespan. It continuously affects how we think, feel, and act. It also plays an important role in our physical and social well-being. Many factors can impact our mental health, including early adverse life experiences, experiences related to chronic medical conditions, biological factors, feelings of loneliness or isolation, and various life stressors [...]