Local Boards of Health as Linkages Between Local Health Departments and Health Care and Other Community Organizations

We examined the degree to which LBoHs serve as a linkage between LHDs and 2 types of community organizations, health care providers and local government agencies, and the LBoH characteristics associated with tendency of LBoHs to perform such linkage function. Methods: We analyzed data from a recent cross-sectional survey, the 2015 National Survey of Local Boards of Health. This survey used a probability sample of 685 LHDs stratified by the state of LHD location and the population size of LHD jurisdiction, resulting in 394 responses for a response rate of 58%. We used multivariate logistic regression to pursue the study objectives. Results: LHD respondents reported that LBoHs served as a linkage with hospitals or other health care providers for 20% of LHDs and with local government agencies for 19% of LHDs. Significant association of LBoHs' performance of governance functions existed with their chances of linking LHDs with hospitals or other health care providers (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.25; P
Source: Journal of Public Health Management and Practice - Category: Health Management Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research