A toolkit developed in Indiana makes it easier for local health workers to access resources.
Courtesy NickyLloyd, iStockphoto
Local public health often thrives when best practices and other information are shared throughout a state. But in Indiana, which has 95 local health departments, operations can vary significantly from community to community, making it hard for leaders to learn from one another.
Recognizing the problem, the Indiana Public Health Association stepped up to provide technical assistance and support, creating a resource local health officials can use to standardize key operations. The Administrators 101 Toolkit, released by the APHA-affiliated public health association in July 2022, makes it easier for local health workers to share resources and carry out their work, according to Sara Krupski, MPH, APHA member and IPHA association manager.
Indiana is a home rule state, which means municipal and county governments function independently from the state government. That structure can allow for more customized approaches to public health delivery, Krupski acknowledged.
But it can also create challenges for departments — such as establishing a new position without standardized job descriptions or procedures to reference, or issuing new ordinances without guidance or examples from other departments. The toolkit from the Indiana association can fill those voids.
“If the need arises for a county to create an ordinance at the local level that hasn’t existed before, they can come (to the toolkit) and see where other ordinances exist that are aligned and what they look like,” Krupski told The Nation’s Health.
Collaborating with the Local Health Department Manager’s Association of Indiana, IPHA filled the open-access, online toolkit with comprehensive information, resources and templates. Rather than reaching out to departments across the state, health administrators can now easily find templates for job descriptions, orders, notices, release forms and more.
“They can worry more about getting folks vaccinated or running their health education events and things like that,” Krupski said.
The toolkit also connects administrators with helpful resources for managing technology, human resources and staff management, and finance.
The resources have been a hit with users, an IPHA survey found. More than 96% of local health departments said the toolkit was a valuable resource and 85% said it satisfied an existing need. Department staff said the tools improved their ability to perform work-related activities.
The toolkit, which was supported by a grant from the National Association of County and City Health Officials, took about four months to develop. It is the first of its kind — created by IPHA without any existing blueprint or roadmap to guide the process, according to Krupski.
The Affiliate plans to continue updating the toolkit as needed.
“It’s always nice to have a project that feels like it’s immediately addressing a need,” Krupski said.
For more information on Indiana Public Health Association’s Administrators 101 Toolkit, visit bit.ly/admin101toolkit.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
