CONTEXT Local health departments are increasingly challenged to meet emerging health problems at the same time that they are being challenged with dwindling resources and the demands of accreditation. OBJECTIVE To assess the capacity of Multicounty health districts to serve as "Quality Improvement Collaboratives" and support local health departments to meet accreditation standards. DESIGN T...

This is the essential guide for all those who make policy or make decisions to protect and promote public health, particularly those who wish to prevent cancer and other chronic diseases at the national, state, or local levels. Essential partners include leaders in health professional and other nongovernmental organizations, government, industry, the media, schools, workplaces and other institu...

Background & aim: Most of the maternal mortalities are preventable when safe maternal healthcare practices adhere to antenatal care. Lack of birth and emergency preparedness is one of several factors contributing to maternal mortalities. Adequate birth preparedness (BP), as well as emergency, and complication readiness (CR) planning can determine the survival rate of a pregnant woman and her un...

This randomized controlled study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program entitled 'Capacity building for community leaders in a healthy living environment,' and to assess the usefulness of a participatory style of education and the applicability of an intersectoral approach in the educational process. An intervention group and a control group (consisting of 150 and...

Extreme heat events (EHEs) are becoming more intense, more frequent and longer lasting in the 21st century. These events can disproportionately impact the health of low-income, minority, and urban populations. To better understand heat-related intervention strategies used by four U.S. cities, we conducted 73 semi-structured interviews with government and non-governmental organization leaders re...

June 2006 | Volume 3 | Issue 6 | e171 Two leaders in the global fi ght against HIV/AIDS—Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)—have recently argued that HIV represents an extraordinary national security threat [1,2]. Their intent has been to app...

Public mobilisation is needed to enact obesity-prevention policies and to mitigate reaction against their implementation. However, approaches in public health focus mainly on dialogue between public health professionals and political leaders. Strategies to increase popular demand for obesity-prevention policies include refinement and streamlining of public information, identification of effecti...

Results: Local decision-making authority was perceived as greatly restricted by what public health activities were legally mandated and the categoric nature of funding sources, even as some leaders exercised deliberate strategic approaches. One’s workforce and board of health were also influential in making decisions regarding resource allocations. Challenges were expressed regarding making use...