External collaboration and performance: North Carolina local public health departments, 1996.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined the extent to which local public health departments in North Carolina collaborated with other groups and organizations, the health problems on which they worked together, and the effect of external collaboration on health departments' performance on core public health functions.


METHODS
The author mailed a questionnaire asking about interactions with city and county government agencies, boards of health, schools, nonprofits, physicians/private clinics, community health centers/migrant clinics, community members, citizens' groups, state and federal agencies, and universities to all of the directors of local public health departments in North Carolina. Sixty-four directors returned the questionnaire, for a response rate of 74.4%.


RESULTS
Local public health departments most frequently interacted with boards of health, state agencies, community members, schools, city and county government agencies, and nonprofit agencies. Large majorities reported productive relationships with boards of health, state agencies, city and county government agencies, schools, nonprofit agencies, and hospitals. Greater frequency of interaction with several types of partners was associated with better performance.


CONCLUSIONS
While questions exist about whether performance on core functions improves the community's health status, the results suggest that it is important for local public health departments to continue to build relationships with other organizations in the community.
Lovelace
K
K
Department of Public Health Education, School of Health and Human Performance, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 27412-6169, USA. klovelace@uncg.edu
D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D009657:North Carolina; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires