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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Tina Smith, MPH¹, Christopher A. Parker, MBBS, MPH¹, Karen Minyard, PHD¹, John A. Shoemaker, MPH¹, and Stuart Brown, MD². (1) Georgia Health Policy Center, Georgia State University, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, 14 Marietta Street, Atlanta, GA 30303, 404-463-9346, chrisparker@gsu.edu, (2) Georgia Department of Human Resources, Georgia Division of Public Health, 2 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30303

In 2004, the Division of Public Health (DPH), Georgia Department of Human Resources, commissioned an assessment of its core business and business drivers as an initial step in a larger strategic planning process. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with both internal and external stakeholders to identify their perceptions of DPH's core business and business drivers. Stakeholders identified the core business of DPH as the provision of direct medical services to underserved populations, underpinned by vaguely-recognized population-based services. This conflicted with the ideal core business of the population-based services embodied in the Ten Essential Services of Public Health. Stakeholders identified DPH's business as being driven by four factors: funding, the fragility of the “safety net”, the philosophy of DPH's leadership, and the legislative/regulatory environment. These business drivers were misaligned with the perceived ideal drivers of level-of-need, evidence-base, and local input in state-level strategy. Stakeholders also recognized that the current organizational structure of DPH and the public health system within the State presents challenges for implementing the ideal core business and responding to its ideal drivers. To achieve these ideals, stakeholders called for clear and compelling messages about public health's purpose, and for a more proactive leadership role for DPH.

Learning Objectives: