The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #46239

Alonzo Plough, PhD, MPH, Director, Public Health - Seattle and King County, 999 Third Avenue, Suite 1200, Seattle, WA 98104, 206-296-1480, alonzo.plough@metrokc.gov and Roz D. Lasker, MD, Center for the Advancement of Collaborative Strategies in Health, The New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, Room 452, New York, NY 10029-5293.

For many years, local health departments (LHDs) have been underfunded and underappreciated. Moreover, certain functions, like environmental health, mental health, and oversight of medical care, have been organizationally dissociated from many health departments. In this context, some public health professionals are concerned that an independent, community-driven process like community health governance (CHG) might take even more away from governmental public health or result in "privatizing" public health. The audience and presenters will have an opportunity to address these concerns in a facilitated discussion that includes the following questions: (1) Does the CHG process replace anything that LHDs were doing before? Do LHDs have to give up or "privatize" any of their functions or services to participate in CHG? (2) Does CHG expand or reduce public health infrastructure in communities? Does an independent, community-driven process for improving community health contribute to local public health capacity? (3) Does participating in CHG pose a conflict for LHDs? Is there a trade-off between developing internal LHD operating capacity and helping to establish an independent, community-driven process with which the LHD can partner? (4) Do the benefits that LHDs experience as a result of participating in CHG outweigh the drawbacks? How do LHDs have to change to realize the benefits of CHG? Are these changes worth it?

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

(
• list the concerns that public health professionals have about community health governance (CHG); (
• relate these concerns to "real-life" experiences; and (
• describe how independent, community-driven processes can support local public health capacity

Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Local Public Health Agencies

Related Web page: www.cacsh.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.