scholarly journals Identifying Needs for Advancing the Profession and Workforce in Environmental Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin A. Gerding ◽  
Bryan W. Brooks ◽  
Elizabeth Landeen ◽  
Sandra Whitehead ◽  
Kaitlyn R. Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Specific Problem ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
State Health ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
Emerging Issues

An ever-changing landscape for environmental health (EH) requires in-depth assessment and analysis of the current challenges and emerging issues faced by EH professionals. The Understanding the Needs, Challenges, Opportunities, Vision, and Emerging Roles in Environmental Health initiative addressed this need. After receiving responses from more than 1700 practitioners, during an in-person workshop, focus groups identified and described priority problems and supplied context on addressing the significant challenges facing EH professionals with state health agencies and local health departments. The focus groups developed specific problem statements detailing the EH profession and workforce’s prevailing challenges and needs according to 6 themes, including effective leadership, workforce development, equipment and technology, information systems and data, garnering support, and partnerships and collaboration. We describe the identified priority problems and needs and provide recommendations for ensuring a strong and robust EH profession and workforce ready to address tomorrow’s challenges.

scholarly journals Exploring Costing Methods for Environmental Health Services in North Carolina

2016 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-40
Author(s):  
Simone R. Singh ◽  
Nancy L. Winterbauer ◽  
Ashley Tucker ◽  
Lisa Macon Harrison
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Site Water ◽  
Using Data

All local health departments in North Carolina are mandated to provide a defined set of environmental health services, yet few have the tools to understand the costs incurred in delivering these services. The objectives of this study were to (1) derive cost estimates for 2 commonly provided environmental health services—food and lodging inspections and on-site water services—and (2) explore factors that drive variations in costs, focusing on the roles of economies of scale and scope. Using data from 15 local health departments in North Carolina, we found that costs varied substantially. A bivariate analysis found evidence of economies of scale: higher volumes of services were associated with lower costs per service. Providing a greater scope of services, however, was not consistently associated with reduced costs. In-depth cost data provide public health officials with key information when deciding how to best serve their communities.

scholarly journals Go Local: Innovating Local Health Departments' Engagement on Alzheimer’s

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 57-57
Author(s):  
John Shean ◽  
Molly French
Keyword(s):  
Workforce Development ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Baby Boom ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Action Plans ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Cognitive Health ◽  
Road Map

Abstract The aging Baby Boom generation is a major force behind projected increases in the prevalence of Alzheimer’s, which is expected to grow from 5.8 million (2020) to 13.8 million (2050). Local health departments play a major role connecting people living with dementia (and their caregivers) to services, supports, and education, and to ensure safe, accessible environments where they can flourish. From September 2019-July 2020, two local health departments (from San Diego County and the City of Boston) participated in a yearlong collaborative pilot project with the Alzheimer’s Association to advance cognitive health, dementia, and caregiving issues in their local jurisdictions. The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) provided expert guidance and input throughout the collaboration. As part of the project, the local health departments: scanned their current work on healthy aging, identified existing data sources, and examined how existing healthy equity initiatives can apply to cognitive health, dementia, and caregiving issues. Action plans were developed, with a focus on policy mechanisms to initiate and sustain these projects and workforce development initiatives. Plans corresponded to actions of the Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map, helping elevate recommendations to change systems, policies, and environments. In fall 2020, LHDs will be able to use best practices, case studies, and tools developed from San Diego’s and Boston’s pilots to address Alzheimer’s as a chronic condition. The tools will help them engage health officials, develop action plans, and train the public health

Using Public Health Legal Counsel Effectively: Beliefs, Barriers and Opportunities for Training

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. 61-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Kaufman ◽  
Susan Allan ◽  
Jennifer Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
The State ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Legal Counsel ◽  
State Health ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
Legal Staff

Laws, ordinances, regulations, and executive orders create the powers and duties of public health agencies and modify the complex community conditions that affect health. Appropriately trained legal counsel serving as legal advisors on the health officer's team facilitate clear understanding of the legal basis for public health interventions and access to legal tools for carrying them out.Legal counsel serve public health agencies via different organizational arrangements — e.g., internal staff counsel, external counsel from the state attorney general's (AG) office, state health department, county or city, or private counsel under contract, or in combination. As of 2011, most state health departments (63%) employ their own counsel, and 56% use AG counsel, while 17% contract with independent attorneys; most local health departments (66%) work with attorneys and legal staff assigned by local government, by the state health agency (23%), or contract with outside attorneys and legal staff (15%).

scholarly journals Consumer Interest and Preferred Formats for Disclosure of Restaurant Inspection Results, Minnesota 2019

2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-721
Author(s):  
MELANIE J. FIRESTONE ◽  
CRAIG W. HEDBERG
Keyword(s):  
Food Service ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Consumer Interest ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Sanitary Conditions

ABSTRACT In recent years, numerous state and local health departments have developed systems to disclose restaurant inspection results to consumers. Public disclosure of restaurant inspection results can reduce transmission of foodborne illness by driving improvements in sanitary conditions. In Minnesota, restaurant inspection results are not readily accessible for consumers to use to make decisions about where to eat. The objective of this study was to assess the consumer interest among Minnesota adults in having better access to restaurant inspection results and to identify preferred formats for disseminating this information. We conducted a survey among 1,188 Minnesota residents aged 18 years or older at the 2019 Minnesota State Fair. Overall, 94.4% of respondents wanted better access to restaurants' inspection information. More than three-quarters (77.1%) of respondents stated that they would use this information to decide where to eat. Respondents wanted to see inspection results online (71.6%) and at restaurants (62.1%). Increasing public access to inspection results could reinforce efforts by public health agencies and food service operators to improve the safety of foods prepared away from home. HIGHLIGHTS

Patterns of Cross-Sector Collaboration in Local Health Departments: A Cluster Analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 152483992097298
Author(s):  
Alexis K. Grant
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Cluster Assignment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Top Executive

Local health departments (LHDs) are positioned to act as the community health strategist for their catchment area, which requires cross-sector collaboration. However, little research exists to understand how much and what types of cross-sector collaboration occur and its impact on LHD practice. Data from 490 LHDs who participated in the 2016 National Profile of Local Health Departments survey were analyzed to identify patterns of cross-sector collaboration among LHDs. In the survey, LHDs reported the presence of collaborative activities for each of 22 categories of organizations. Factor analysis was used to identify patterns in the types of organizations with which LHDs collaborate. Then, cluster analysis was conducted to identify patterns in the types of cross-sector collaboration, and cross-sectional analyses examined which LHD characteristics were associated with cluster assignment. LHDs collaborated most with traditional health care–oriented organizations, but less often with organizations focused on upstream determinants of health such as housing. Three distinct clusters represented collaboration patterns in LHDs: coordinators, networkers, and low-collaborators. LHDs who were low-collaborators were more likely to serve smaller populations, be unaccredited, have a smaller workforce, have a White top executive, and have a top executive without a graduate degree. These findings imply that public health practitioners should prioritize building bridges to a variety of organizations and engage in collaboration beyond information sharing. Furthermore, LHDs should prioritize accreditation and workforce development activities for supporting cross-sector collaboration. With these investments, the public health system can better address the social and structural determinants of health and promote health equity.

scholarly journals Actionable lessons for the US COVID vaccine program

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary L. Freed
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Local Health ◽  
National Strategy ◽  
Individual State ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Public Health Infrastructure ◽  
Health Infrastructure ◽  
The Us ◽  
Vaccine Distribution

AbstractWhen attempting to provide lessons for other countries from the successful Israeli COVID-19 vaccine experience, it is important to distinguish between the modifiable and non-modifiable components identified in the article by Rosen, et al. Two specific modifiable components included in the Israeli program from which the US can learn are (a) a national (not individual state-based) strategy for vaccine distribution and administration and (b) a functioning public health infrastructure. As a federal government, the US maintains an often complex web of state and national authorities and responsibilities. The federal government assumed responsibility for the ordering, payment and procurement of COVID vaccine from manufacturers. In designing the subsequent steps in their COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration plan, the Trump administration decided to rely on the states themselves to determine how best to implement guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This strategy resulted in 50 different plans and 50 different systems for the dissemination of vaccine doses, all at the level of each individual state. State health departments were neither financed, experienced nor uniformly possessed the expertise to develop and implement such plans. A national strategy for the distribution, and the workforce for the provision, of vaccine beyond the state level, similar to that which occurred in Israel, would have provided for greater efficiency and coordination across the country. The US public health infrastructure was ill-prepared and ill-staffed to take on the responsibility to deliver > 450 million doses of vaccine in an expeditious fashion, even if supply of vaccine was available. The failure to adequately invest in public health has been ubiquitous across the nation at all levels of government. Since the 2008 recession, state and local health departments have lost > 38,000 jobs and spending for state public health departments has dropped by 16% per capita and spending for local health departments has fallen by 18%. Hopefully, COVID-19 will be a wakeup call to the US with regard to the need for both a national strategy to address public health emergencies and the well-maintained infrastructure to make it happen.

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