LAUSR

Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and other chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability and the leading drivers of health care costs in the United States (1). Health disparities and inequalities exist across chronic diseases, behavioral risk factors, environmental exposures, social determinants, and health care access by sex, race and ethnicity, income, education, disability status, and other social characteristics (2). A white paper developed by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists’ (CSTE’s) Chronic Disease Epidemiology Capacity Building Workgroup stated that for 3 of the Essential Public Health Services — surveillance, communication, and consultation — chronic disease epidemiologists (CDEs) perform functions that are critical to health departments (3). Collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating data on chronic diseases and related risk factors is vital to understanding and raising awareness about morbidity, mortality, associated costs, and disparities. These data are also vital inputs throughout the process of implementing evidence-based public health approaches to reduce the burden of chronic diseases in the United States.