5304.0: Wednesday, November 15, 2000 - 8:42 PM

Abstract #12195

Moving from ranking to decision making: What else must be considered?

Johanna D. Birckmayer, MPH, PhD, Poudre Health Services District, 120 Bristlecone Dr, Fort Collins, CO 80524, 970-224-5209, jbirckmayer@healthdistrict.org

What is adequate information for decision making at the local level in health? This presentation describes the steps taken by a board of directors and staff of a local health agency to make final programmatic decisions after an initial prioritization of health risk factors. From an initial list of major risk factors and their priority scores, the board first made a final determination of which risk factors fell within the agency mission. Agency staff then conducted problem analysis of each of the remaining risk factors. For each risk factor a list of intervention approaches and the potential effectiveness of these approaches was developed from a literature review. A review of current activities in the community was conducted and used to determine possible new roles for the agency. Finally, resources needed for each approach were estimated. The presentation will close with an overview of the decisions made by the local health agency after conducting an evidence based health priority and planning process. A panel discussion of lessons learned will follow.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to describe a process for identifying and assessing the potential impact of intervention approaches to address a wide spectrum of risk factors at a local level

Keywords: Interventions, Community Health Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Poudre Health Services District Felix, Burdine and Associates, Inc
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

The 128th Annual Meeting of APHA