title: The impacts of local health department consolidation on public health expenditures: evidence from Ohio.
abstract: We examined the effects of local health department (LHD) consolidations on the total and administrative expenditures of LHDs in Ohio from 2001 to 2011. We obtained data from annual records maintained by the state of Ohio and through interviews conducted with senior local health officials and identified 20 consolidations of LHDs occurring in Ohio in this time period. We found that consolidating LHDs experienced a reduction in total expenditures of approximately 16% (P = .017), although we found no statistically significant change in administrative expenses. County health officials who were interviewed concurred that their consolidations yielded financial benefits, and they also asserted that their consolidations yielded public health service improvements.
authors.affiliation: John Hoornbeek, Matthew Stefanak, and Joshua Filla are with the Center for Public Policy and Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, Kent State University, Ohio. Michael E. Morris, Rohit Pradhan, and Sharla A. Smith are with the Fay Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Science, Little Rock.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hoornbeek
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stefanak
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Filla
authors.forename: Rohit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prodhan
authors.forename: Sharla A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D009111:Local Government; D009820:Ohio; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*