Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #117929

Susan S. Gallagher, MPH, Health and Human Development programs, Education Development Center, Inc., 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02458, (617) 618-2206, sgallagher@edc.org

State health departments are regularly faced with budget cuts, reorganizations, and dwindling resources. An assessment of sustainability problems and possible solutions for state injury and violence prevention programs was undertaken.

Telephone interviews were conducted with STIPDA representatives in a random sample of 25 states. States were asked to describe budget cuts, reorganizations, and sustainability issues, reasons for sustainability problems, specific measures taken to nurture and sustain the program, market its worth and increase visibility, and state agency restrictions on accessibility to the media and policy makers. A combination of open-ended and fixed response items were included. A qualitative data analysis was conducted categorizing responses by questions and by themes that emerged during the analysis.

Most state agencies had suffered recent budget cuts or reorganizations that impacted on the program's sustainability. Marketing the program's value tended to be a reactive response to an impending crisis rather than a routine activity that was a component of a state's injury prevention plan. Mechanisms to communicate with the media and policy makers were severely limited by state policies, by layers of bureaucracy, and by lack of support from state health agency officials. Although external steering committees and advisors were in evidence, few were asked to use their influence for the program. Mature programs were more likely to have developed methods to communicate their program and its successes.

Identification and use of external advocates for injury prevention programs should be cultivated to promote a program's value as part of routine activities before a crisis occurs

Learning Objectives: