State public health per capita funding among three organizational structures of state public health agencies

Objective: Public health funding plays an important role in ensuring that federal, state, and local governments are able to fulfill the public health mission. Organizational structure of state public health agencies varies across the country - stand alone (agency with a public health mission), umbrella (public health as a smaller component in a larger agency), or mixed (public health combined with one other function). The objective of this study was to evaluate whether funding varies depending on the three types of structures.

Method: Secondary data were used to examine 2005 public health per capita state funding levels. The investigation looked for differences in funding among the three types of structures in the 50 states and District of Columbia. Group differences in per capita state funding were examined using ANOVA analyses.

Results: Average per capita state funding in 2005 was $39.11. Mixed function agencies had the highest average per capita state funding of $44.10, followed by stand alone agencies with $42.93 per capita. The umbrella public health agency had the lowest average per capita state funding of $30.16. Results from ANOVA did not indicate significant differences in the average per capita state funding among the three groups of agencies (p>0.05).

Conclusion: State public health agency organizational structure does not play a significant role in the amount of state funding. This information is useful to policymakers when considering establishment or reconfiguration of state agencies. Further research is needed to determine public health outcomes based on organizational structure and per capita funding.