Logo image
Collaboration Among Missouri Nonprofit Hospitals and Local Health Departments: Content Analysis of Community Health Needs Assessments
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Collaboration Among Missouri Nonprofit Hospitals and Local Health Departments: Content Analysis of Community Health Needs Assessments

Kate E. Beatty, Kristin D. Wilson, Amanda Ciecior and Lisa Stringer
American journal of public health (1971), Vol.105(S2), pp.S337-S344
04/01/2015
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302488
PMCID: PMC4355698
PMID: 25689184
url
https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302488View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Objectives. We identified the levels of joint action that led to collaboration between hospitals and local health departments (LHDs) using the hospital's community health needs assessments (CHNAs). Methods. In 2014, we conducted a content analysis of Missouri nonprofit hospitals (n = 34) CHNAs, and identified hospitals based on previously reported collaboration with LHDs. We coded the content according to the level of joint action. A comparison sample (n = 50) of Missouri nonprofit hospitals provided the basic comparative information on hospital characteristics. Results. Among the hospitals identified by LHDs, 20.6% were "networking," 20.6% were "coordinating," 38.2% were "cooperating," and 2.9% were "collaborating." Almost 18% of study hospitals had no identifiable level of joint action with LHDs based on their CHNAs. In addition, comparison hospitals were more often part of a larger system (74%) compared with study hospitals (52.9%). Conclusions. The results of our study helped develop a better understanding of levels of joint action from a hospital perspective. Our results might assist hospitals and LHDs inmaking more informed decisions about efficient deployment of resources for assessment processes and implementation plans.
Life Sciences & Biomedicine Public, Environmental & Occupational Health Science & Technology

Details

Logo image