Examination of the Relationship between Public Health Statute Modernization and Local Public Health System Performance

Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, Vol. 15, No. 4, p. 292, 2009

7 Pages Posted: 27 Dec 2011

See all articles by Benjamin Mason Meier

Benjamin Mason Meier

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Jacqueline Merrill

Columbia University

Kristine M. Gebbie

CUNY Hunter College

Jonathan Keeling

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Haomiao Jia

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: 2009

Abstract

Wide variation in performance of public health (PH) systems, coupled with national interest in improving PH system quality, makes it a priority to identify factors associated with performance. One factor may be congruence between a state’s PH enabling statutes and the obligations outlined in Public Health in America — the collaboratively developed framework that defines the mission and essential services (ESs) of PH. This research examined the relationship between (1) the degree to which language in a state’s PH enabling statutes reflects PH’s mission and ESs and (2) the performance of local public health systems in delivering ESs, measured by National Public Health Performance Standards scores in 207 local jurisdictions. Binary logistic regression demonstrated that a high degree of congruence between statutory language and public health’s mission increased the odds of above-average system performance for 5 of 10 ESs. High levels of congruence between statutory language and the ESs themselves increased odds of above-average system performance for 6 of 10 ESs. Results yielded modest odds ratios (<2.0). Limitations of the data make it impossible to draw firm conclusions; however, these modest results suggest that statutory language may account for little of the variation in local public health system performance.

Keywords: essential services, logistic regression, mission, performance, public health law, statute

Suggested Citation

Meier, Benjamin Mason and Merrill, Jacqueline and Gebbie, Kristine M. and Keeling, Jonathan and Jia, Haomiao, Examination of the Relationship between Public Health Statute Modernization and Local Public Health System Performance (2009). Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, Vol. 15, No. 4, p. 292, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1977058

Benjamin Mason Meier (Contact Author)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ( email )

CB 3435
103 Abernethy Hall
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
United States
919-962-0542 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.benjaminmasonmeier.com/

Jacqueline Merrill

Columbia University ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

Kristine M. Gebbie

CUNY Hunter College ( email )

695 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10065
United States

Jonathan Keeling

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Haomiao Jia

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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