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High Turnover Among State Health Officials/Public Health Directors: Implications for the Public's Health
Paul K Halverson1, John R Lumpkin, Valerie A Yeager
1IU Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indianapolis, Indiana (Drs Halverson, Yeager, and Tilson); Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey (Dr Lumpkin); de Beaumont Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland (Mr Castrucci); and Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Arlington, Virginia (Ms Moffatt).
Journal of Public Health Management and Practice : JPHMP
|August 1, 2017
Summary
State health officials (SHOs) have an average tenure of 4.1 years, with significant variation across states. Appointed SHOs by a board of health served longer than those appointed by governors.
Area of Science:
- Public Health Leadership
- Health Policy and Management
- State Government Administration
Background:
- State health officials (SHOs) are crucial leaders of state public health systems.
- There is a lack of formal preparation and selection criteria for SHOs.
- Limited research exists on SHO tenure and experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the tenure of State Health Officials (SHOs) over time.
- To investigate the relationship between SHO tenure and organizational/state attributes.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study utilizing primary data on SHOs.
- Secondary data from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials on public health agency attributes.
- Analysis of SHOs in the United States from 1980-2017.
Main Results:
- The average SHO tenure was 4.1 years (median 2.9 years) over 38 years, with 508 individuals serving.
- Nearly 20% of SHOs served 1 year or less; 6.3% served 10+ years.
- SHOs appointed by a board of health averaged over 8 years, compared to under 4 years for those appointed by governors or secretaries.
Conclusions:
- Significant state-level variations exist in SHO tenure.
- Further research on SHO effectiveness, satisfaction, and transitions is recommended.
- Governors should consider experience over partisanship when appointing SHOs.
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