Creating healthy communities by strengthening the public safety net

Local health departments (LHDs) are responsible for maintaining and creating conditions that keep the public healthy. A functional local health department addresses health disparities and provides services, which includes personal health care services, to local communities. Additionally, community health centers (CHCs) were developed to focus on the reduction or elimination of health disparities in minority groups, the poor and the uninsured. They are a key component of the public safety net which focuses on health care for the individual as well as the health status of the aforementioned target groups. This study examined health outcomes and health disparities in areas with high versus low LHD/CHC concentrations in the Great Lakes region.

We used community health center information collected from HRSA, 2008 NACCHO survey data and American Community survey data from the US Census. First, we created a GIS map of the local health department jurisdictions and placed the community health centers on the map to show location and concentrations within LHD jurisdictions. Next, we created demographic profiles for each LHD service area which included race, unemployment rate, poverty level, infant mortality rate, and total mortality rate. Using logistic regression, we analyzed health disparities in jurisdictions with low versus high LHD/CHC concentrations.

Given the passage of the health care reform bill, it has been predicted that more individuals and families will obtain services from public health system providers. Therefore it is important to study the relationships between these safety net providers and their influence on the health of the communities that they serve.