142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

297724
Priority of Public Health Issues among Policy Makers after an Economic Recession

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Meghan McGurk, MPH , Office of Public Health Studies, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Earl Higa , Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Thomas Lee, BA , Office of Public Health Studies, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Jay Maddock, PhD , Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Hawai'i Manoa, Honolulu, HI
Background:  Policy at the state and local level can often have a greater impact on the public’s health than individual-based approaches.  Elected and appointed officials have an essential role in protecting and improving public health.  Despite this important role, little systematic research has been done to assess the relative importance of public health issues compared to other policy issues in times of economic hardship.  This study assessed attitudes of Hawaii decision makers in 2007 and 2013 to determine if priorities differed before and after the economic recession.  Methods: Elected and appointed state and county officials were mailed surveys in both years.  Respondents rated the importance of 23 specified problems, of which 9 asked about specific public health issues.  Results:  The survey was completed by 126 (70.4%) respondents in 2007 and 133 (63.0%) in 2013.  Significant mean decreases were seen in five public health issues: climate change, pedestrian safety, government response to natural disasters, access to healthcare, and pandemic influenza.  Obesity was the only public health issue to increase in importance between surveys.  In relative ranking, only drug abuse and obesity were among the top ten priorities across both time points.  Lack of public health training, pandemic influenza, and government response to natural disasters were among the bottom five priorities. Conclusions:  Among Hawaii’s policy makers, many public health issues have a lower priority after the economic recession than before it.  Additional education and advocacy is needed to keep public health issues on the minds of decision makers during economic decline.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Identify barriers to developing public health policies in Hawaii after an economic recession. Explain the need for continual education and advocacy of public health issues in order to maintain policy maker awareness.

Keyword(s): Policy/Policy Development, Advocacy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the project manager of this study to explore the priorities of elected and appointed officials in Hawaii. I conducted much of the work done in the study, which enables me to thoroughly explain its design and findings. I also have my Masters in Public Health, making me qualified to present to my peers in the field.
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.