Local Health Departments' Capacity for Workplace Health Promotion Programs to Prevent Chronic Disease: Comparison of Rural, Micropolitan, and Urban Contexts.
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ABSTRACT: Objective
To examine local health department (LHD) contexts, capacity for, and interest in partnering with employers on workplace health promotion programs (WHPPs) for chronic disease prevention.Design
Qualitative interviews with LHD directors.Setting
LHDs from 21 counties in 10 states.Participants
Twenty-one LHD directors.Main outcome measuress
Experiences and perceptions of existing partnerships, decision making, funding, data needs, and organizational capacity for WHPP partnerships with employers.Results
We identified 3 themes: (1) LHDs see the value of partnering with employers but lack the capacity to do so effectively; (2) while LHDs base priorities on community need, funding ultimately drives decision making; and (3) rural, micropolitan, and urban LHDs differ in their readiness and capacity to work with employers.Conclusions
Understanding LHDs' partnership capacity and context is essential to the successful implementation of WHPP partnerships with employers. Expanding these partnerships may require additional financial investments, particularly among rural LHDs.
SUBMITTER: Brown MC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8670205 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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