Evaluating Oversight, Policy Development, Quality Improvement, and Resource Stewardship of Local Boards of Health: Impacts on Community Partners Involvement
Document Type
Presentation
Presentation Date
11-14-2018
Abstract or Description
Introduction: Efficient provision of essential public health services may be influenced by collaborative capacity of local health departments (LHDs). Local boards of health (LBoHs) are well-positioned to facilitate partnerships.
Objectives: We examined the degree to which LBoHs serve as a linkage between LHD and two type of community organizations, healthcare providers, and local government agencies, and the LBoH characteristics associated with tendency of LBoHs to perform such linkage function.
Methods: We analyzed data from a recent cross-sectional survey, the 2015 National Survey of Local Boards of Health. This survey used a probability sample of 685 LHDs stratified by the state of LHD location and the population size of LHD jurisdiction, resulting in 394 responses for a response rate of 58 percent. We used multivariate logistic regression to pursue the study objectives.
Results: LHD respondents reported that LBOHs served as a linkage with hospitals or other healthcare providers for 20 percent of LHDs and with local government agencies for 19 percent of LHDs. Significant association of LBoHs’ performance of governance functions existed with their chances of linking LHDs with hospitals or other healthcare providers (AOR, 1.25; p, <0.001) and with local government agencies (AOR, 1.23; p, <0.001). Among the factors associated with LBoH serving as the linkage, the governance function oversight was the strongest, followed by governance functions policy development, continuous improvement, and resource stewardship. Legal authority had weakest association with both type of linkages. A strong positive association existed between LBoH seeking community input from elected officials and LBoH’s tendency of serving as the linkage with both healthcare providers and local government agencies.
Conclusions: The role of LBOHs in linking with hospitals, other healthcare providers and government agencies could be further maximized, particularly given the high proportion of LBOHs of that include members that are healthcare professionals.
Sponsorship/Conference/Institution
American Public Health Association Annual Meeting (APHA)
Location
San Diego, CA
Recommended Citation
Shah, Gulzar H..
2018.
"Evaluating Oversight, Policy Development, Quality Improvement, and Resource Stewardship of Local Boards of Health: Impacts on Community Partners Involvement."
Department of Health Policy and Community Health Faculty Presentations.
Presentation 49.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/hpmb-facpres/49
