Public Health Experience with Health Disparities: An accessible national inventory for the practice community

Background:. While the National Association of County and City Health Official's (NACCHO's) 2005 Operational Definition of a local public health department (LHD) expects that LHD's address health disparities and the socio-economic issues that impact the health of their populations, local public health approaches vary widely across the U. S. Public health leaders and policy makers, therefore, are eager for evidence related to how to address health disparities with an effective preventive approach.

The Project: This project represents Robert Wood Johnson (RWJF)-funded work of researchers from the University of Washington (UW) School of Nursing to inventory current local public health programs and structures designed to eliminate health disparities. Their findings will populate an electronic database of indicators relevant to health disparities programs and structures that is accessible to the public.

Outcome: Data from NACCHO's 2008 Profile of Local Health Departments,a UW survey and key informant interviews were collected, organized and compiled into a searchable data base for use by the public health community in identifying replicable existing programs and evidence-based practices for reducing health disparities and addressing health inequities. Data gathering has also revealed common themes among those with the most innovative strategies addressing health inequalities in their communities and indicate that NACCHO leadership and California Newsreel's Unnatural Causes video series have had a significant role in providing support and momentum for LHDs in addressing health disparities.

Implications: The data base provides the public health community with a comprehensive set of tools from which to plan interventions, programs and structures.