title: Petroleum scarcity and public health: considerations for local health departments.
abstract: Recognition of petroleum as a finite global resource has spurred increasing interest in the intersection between petroleum scarcity and public health. Local health departments represent a critical yet highly vulnerable component of the public health infrastructure. These frontline agencies currently face daunting resource constraints and rely heavily on petroleum for vital population-based health services. Against this backdrop, petroleum scarcity may necessitate reconfiguring local public health service approaches. We describe the anticipated impacts of petroleum scarcity on local health departments, recommend the use of the 10 Essential Public Health Services as a framework for examining attendant operational challenges and potential responses to them, and describe approaches that local health departments and their stakeholders could consider as part of timely planning efforts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. dbarnett@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Cindy L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: Virginia A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Caine
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McKee
authors.forename: Lillian M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Shirley
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Links
mesh_terms: D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000458:organization & administration; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D006077:Government Agencies; D006801:Humans; D010578:Petroleum / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D011634:Public Health; D015980:Public Health Practice; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum