Current and Planned Shared Service Arrangements Among Wisconsin Local and Tribal Health Departments (2012)

Summary

Co-Investigators: Nancy Young, MPA and Kusuma Madamala, PhD, MPH

Funder: National Coordinating Center for Public Health Services & Systems Research and Practice-Based Research Networks Quick Strike Award, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ($25,000)

The purpose of this study was to describe current and future shared service arrangements of Wisconsin local and tribal health departments as a management strategy to increase agency capacity to provide essential public health services. 91/99 Wisconsin LTHDs participated in the study. Findings: 1)71% of respondents share services, 2) Most common motivations for sharing services were “better use of resources, provide better services, respond to program requirements,” (Young, 2012, p.2), 3) 43% of LHDs are currently or have discussed the creation of shared service arrangements in the past two years, 4) Most common motivations for the discussion of creating a shared service arrangement include “better use of resources, save money, provide better services, respond to program requirements,” (Young, 2012, p. 2), and 5) several respondents indicated within efficiency and effectiveness gains that shared service arrangements achieved what the health department wanted.