245033 Building effective public health-CBO/FBO partnerships for disaster readiness

Tuesday, November 1, 2011: 10:50 AM

Deborah Glik, ScD , School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA
David Eisenman, MD, MSHS , Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Michael Prelip, MPH, DPA , School of Public Health, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Michael C. Stajura, MPH, MPP , Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Andrea Martel, MEd , Department Community Health Sciences, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Background/Purpose: This study seeks to better understand the level of connectivity and integration between local health departments and community- or faith-based organizations with respect to disasters and public health emergencies. Community organizations can be an asset to public health departments during emergencies.

Methods: The study consists of over 30 key informant interviews and an environmental scan. The interviews were with representatives from state health departments, local health departments, community-based, and faith-based organizations from over 15 geographically and demographically diverse counties across the nation. The interviews represent a wide range of organizational types in urban, suburban, and rural areas. The environmental scan assesses the scope and range of research on this field.

Results/Outcomes: The degree of interaction between local health departments and community- or faith-based organizations is uneven and generally underdeveloped. Even in areas where there is more communication between local health departments and community- and faith-based organizations, the flow of information is usually unidirectional, with community- and faith-based organizations being used to merely disseminate information.

Conclusions: In a time of diminishing resources and increasing complexity, community- and faith-based groups can better enable local health departments to serve their populations before, during, and after disasters and public health emergencies. Local health departments can do more to incorporate community- and faith-based organizations into their disaster and emergency public health plans and operations. Community- and faith-based organizations have much more to offer than is currently used. The Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) model can greatly enhance these relationships.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Program planning
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
1. Assess the interaction between local public health departments and community- and faith-based organizations with regard to disasters and public health emergencies. 2. Describe the role of the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters model for facilitating interaction between local health departments and community- and faith-based organizations. 3. List factors that facilitate or inhibit the development of effective partnerships. 4. Discuss how community- and faith-based organizations can contribute to the mission of local health departments with respect to disasters and public health emergencies.

Keywords: Disasters, Community Involvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am part of the research team conducting this study, which is tied to my doctoral dissertation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.