Obesity prevention and diabetes screening at local health departments.
OBJECTIVE
We assessed whether local health departments (LHDs) were conducting obesity prevention programs and diabetes screening programs, and we examined associations between LHD characteristics and whether they conducted these programs.


METHODS
We used the 2005 National Profile of Local Health Departments to conduct a cross-sectional analysis of 2300 LHDs nationwide. We used multivariate logistic regressions to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).


RESULTS
Approximately 56% of LHDs had obesity prevention programs, 51% had diabetes screening programs, and 34% had both. After controlling for other factors, we found that employing health educators was significantly associated with LHDs conducting obesity prevention programs (OR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.54, 2.81) and diabetes screening programs (OR = 1.63; 95% CI = 1.23, 2.17). We also found that conducting chronic disease surveillance was significantly associated with LHDs conducting obesity prevention programs (OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.26, 2.20) and diabetes screening programs (OR = 2.44; 95% CI = 1.90, 3.15). LHDs with a higher burden of diabetes prevalence were more likely to conduct diabetes screening programs (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.11, 1.31) but not obesity prevention programs.


CONCLUSIONS
The presence of obesity prevention and diabetes screening programs was significantly associated with LHD structural capacity and general performance. However, the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of both types of programs remain unknown.
Zhang
Xinzhi
X
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341-3727, USA. XZhang4@cdc.gov
Luo
Huabin
H
Gregg
Edward W
EW
Mukhtar
Qaiser
Q
Rivera
Mark
M
Barker
Lawrence
L
Albright
Ann
A
D018672:Community Health Planning; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009111:Local Government; D016015:Logistic Models; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011156:Population Density; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000458:organization & administration; D015980:Public Health Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013219:State Government; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014507:Urbanization