Jacqueline Merrill1, Jonathan Keeling, Kristine Gebbie. 1. Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, Vanderbilt Clinic, New York, NY 10034, USA. jacqueline.merrill@dbmi.columbia.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To identify taxonomy of task, knowledge, and resources for documenting the work performed in local health departments (LHDs). DATA SOURCES: Secondary data were collected from documents describing public health (PH) practice produced by organizations representing the PH community. STUDY DESIGN: A multistep consensus-based method was used that included literature review, data extraction, expert opinion, focus group review, and pilot testing. DATA EXTRACTION METHODS: Terms and concepts were manually extracted from documents, consolidated, and evaluated for scope and sufficiency by researchers. An expert panel determined suitability of terms and a hierarchy for classifying them. This work was validated by practitioners and results pilot tested in two LHDs. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The finalized taxonomy was applied to compare a national sample of 11 LHDs. Data were obtained from 1,064 of 1,267 (84 percent) of employees. Frequencies of tasks, knowledge, and resources constitute a profile of PH work. About 70 percent of the correlations between LHD pairs on tasks and knowledge were high (>0.7), suggesting between-department commonalities. On resources only 16 percent of correlations between LHD pairs were high, suggesting a source of performance variability. CONCLUSIONS: A taxonomy of PH work serves as a tool for comparative research and a framework for further development.
OBJECTIVE: To identify taxonomy of task, knowledge, and resources for documenting the work performed in local health departments (LHDs). DATA SOURCES: Secondary data were collected from documents describing public health (PH) practice produced by organizations representing the PH community. STUDY DESIGN: A multistep consensus-based method was used that included literature review, data extraction, expert opinion, focus group review, and pilot testing. DATA EXTRACTION METHODS: Terms and concepts were manually extracted from documents, consolidated, and evaluated for scope and sufficiency by researchers. An expert panel determined suitability of terms and a hierarchy for classifying them. This work was validated by practitioners and results pilot tested in two LHDs. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The finalized taxonomy was applied to compare a national sample of 11 LHDs. Data were obtained from 1,064 of 1,267 (84 percent) of employees. Frequencies of tasks, knowledge, and resources constitute a profile of PH work. About 70 percent of the correlations between LHD pairs on tasks and knowledge were high (>0.7), suggesting between-department commonalities. On resources only 16 percent of correlations between LHD pairs were high, suggesting a source of performance variability. CONCLUSIONS: A taxonomy of PH work serves as a tool for comparative research and a framework for further development.
Authors: Matthew L Boulton; Angela J Beck; Fátima Coronado; Jacqueline A Merrill; Charles P Friedman; George D Stamas; Nadra Tyus; Katie Sellers; Jean Moore; Hugh H Tilson; Carolyn J Leep Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 2014-10-16 Impact factor: 5.043