scholarly journals Succession Planning Activities at a Rural Public Health Department

Author(s):  
Sandra Cole ◽  
Clifford Harbour

This qualitative case study utilized interviews and evaluation of publicallyavailable documents to investigate the process of succession planning in a moderately-sized public health office located in a metropolitan community in a frontier-rural state. Following analysis of the data, the results were compared to literature findings. Four public health directors, the County Health Officer and the Board of Health chairperson participated in the private, face-to-face interviews. These individuals were asked to participate because they have the ability to direct staff leadership development activities. A formal succession planning program did not exist at this agency; however, on an informal basis, leadership development was evident. Successes in promotion of leadership development included establishment of a cooperative and collegial work atmosphere. Barriers to the process of succession planning included a lack of stable funding, lack of understanding about the role of public health by the public, erosion of public health authority, inability to recruit trained personnel, low pay scales, and aging of the current workforce. The results of this study indicate that although formal succession planning programs may not exist within an agency, leadership development is still possible through proven adult education methods.

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosina-Martha Csöff ◽  
Gloria Macassa ◽  
Jutta Lindert

Körperliche Beschwerden sind bei Älteren weit verbreitet; diese sind bei Migranten bislang in Deutschland und international noch wenig untersucht. Unsere multizentrische Querschnittstudie erfasste körperliche Beschwerden bei Menschen im Alter zwischen 60 und 84 Jahren mit Wohnsitz in Stuttgart anhand der Kurzversion des Gießener Beschwerdebogens (GBB-24). In Deutschland wurden 648 Personen untersucht, davon 13.4 % (n = 87) nicht in Deutschland geborene. Die Geschlechterverteilung war bei Migranten und Nichtmigranten gleich; der sozioökonomische Status lag bei den Migranten etwas niedriger: 8.0 % (n = 7) der Migranten und 2.5 % (n = 14) der Nichtmigranten verfügten über höchstens vier Jahre Schulbildung; 12.6 % (n = 11) der Migranten und 8.2 % (n = 46) der Nichtmigranten hatten ein monatliches Haushaltsnettoeinkommen von unter 1000€; 26.4 % der Migranten und 38.1 % (n = 214) der Nichtmigranten verfügten über mehr als 2000€ monatlich. Somatische Beschwerden lagen bei den Migranten bei 65.5 % (n = 57) und bei den Nichtmigranten bei 55.8 % (n = 313). Frauen wiesen häufiger somatische Beschwerden auf (61.8 %) als Männer (51.8 %). Mit steigendem Alter nahmen somatische Beschwerden zu. Mit Ausnahme der Altersgruppe der 70–74-Jährigen konnte kein signifikanter Unterschied zwischen Migranten und Nichtmigranten hinsichtlich der Häufigkeit körperlicher Beschwerden gezeigt werden. Ausblick: Es werden dringend bevölkerungsrepräsentative Studien zu körperlichen Beschwerden bei Migranten benötigt.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina M. French ◽  
Eileen C. Painter ◽  
Daniel L. Coury

Objective. To study the effect of an active distraction technique on pain in preschool children receiving diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus immunization. Design. Randomized, unblinded controlled study. Setting. Columbus Public Health Department Immunization Clinics. Participants. One hundred forty-nine 4- to 7-year-old children. Intervention. Children were taught to blow out air repeatedly during the injection, as if they were blowing bubbles. Results. Children who were taught to blow out air during their shots had significantly fewer pain behaviors (P < .04) and demonstrated a trend toward lower subjectively reported pain (P = .06). There was no significant difference in the nurse or parent visual analog scale scores. Conclusions. A simple distraction technique can be effective in helping children cope with the pain of immunization. The use of such a technique to relieve the pain and distress associated with even a brief painful procedure should be encouraged.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Bakota ◽  
Kirsten Short ◽  
Amanda Eckert

ObjectiveThis session will explore the role of the Houston Health Department(HHD) in the City of Houston’s response to the threat of Zika. Thepanelists will provide perspective from the roles of Bureau Chief,informatician, and epidemiologist and provide insight into lessonslearned and strategic successes.IntroductionZika virus spread quickly through South and Central America in2015. The City of Houston saw its first travel-related Zika cases inDecember of 2015. On January 29th, the City held the first planningmeeting with regional partners from healthcare, blood banks,petrochemical companies, mosquito control, and others. Additionallythe City activated Incident Command Structure (ICS) and designatedthe Public Health Authority as the Incident Commander.Initial steps taken by HHD included expanding the capabilityand capacity of the public health laboratory to test for Zika virus;expand surveillance efforts; created an educational campaign aroundthe “3Ds” of Zika defense (Drain, Dress, DEET) which were thendisseminated through several means, including a mass mailing withwater bills; and provided DEET to mothers through the WIC program.The Houston Health Department took the lead in authoringthe City’s Zika Action Plan. In this 3 goals and 6 strategies wereidentified. Goals included 1) Keep Houstonians and visitors aware ofthe threat of Zika; 2) minimize the spread of the virus; and 3) protectpregnant women from the virus. The 6 strategies employed were toA) develop preparedness plans; B) implement ICS within the City;C) ensure situational awareness through surveillance; D) Increasecommunity awareness; E) reduce opportunities for Zika mosquitobreeding grounds; and F) provide direct intervention to reduce thethreat of Zika.HHD was responsible for many of the action items within theplan. We conducted several community outreach events, where wedisseminated educational materials, t-shirts, DEET, and other give-aways. These events allowed frequent engagement with the public forbidrectional communication on how to approach the threat.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document