Areas of Public Health Responsibility Within the Local Public Health Act
Go directly to statute language: Minn. Stat. ยง 145A.04 , subd. 1a
The community health board shall identify local public health priorities and implement activities to address the priorities and the areas of public health responsibility, which include:
1. Assure an adequate local public health infrastructure
2. Promote healthy communities and healthy behavior
3. Prevent the spread of communicable diseases
4. Protect against environmental health hazards
5. Prepare and respond to emergencies
6. Assure health services
1. Assure an adequate local public health infrastructure
Assure an adequate local public health infrastructure by maintaining the basic foundational capacities to a well-functioning public health system that includes data analysis and utilization; health planning; partnership development and community mobilization; policy development, analysis, and decision support; communication; and public health research, evaluation, and quality improvement.
2. Promote healthy communities and healthy behavior
Promote healthy communities and healthy behavior through activities that improve health in a population, such as investing in healthy families; engaging communities to change policies, systems, or environments to promote positive health or prevent adverse health; providing information and education about healthy communities or population health status; and addressing issues of health equity, health disparities, and the social determinants to health.
3. Prevent the spread of communicable diseases
Prevent the spread of communicable disease by preventing diseases that are caused by infectious agents through detecting acute infectious diseases, ensuring the reporting of infectious diseases, preventing the transmission of infectious diseases, and implementing control measures during infectious disease outbreaks.
Related: Disease prevention and control (DP&C) common activities framework
4. Protect against environmental health hazards
Protect against environmental health hazards by addressing aspects of the environment that pose risks to human health, such as monitoring air and water quality; developing policies and programs to reduce exposure to environmental health risks and promote healthy environments; and identifying and mitigating environmental risks such as food and waterborne diseases, radiation, occupational health hazards, and public health nuisances.
5. Prepare and respond to emergencies
Prepare and respond to emergencies by engaging in activities that prepare public health departments to respond to events and incidents and assist communities in recovery, such as providing leadership for public health preparedness activities with a community; developing, exercising, and periodically reviewing response plans for public health threats; and developing and maintaining a system of public health workforce readiness, deployment, and response.
6. Assure health services
Assure health services by engaging in activities such as assessing the availability of health-related services and health care providers in local communities, identifying gaps and barriers in services; convening community partners to improve community health systems; and providing services identified as priorities by the local assessment and planning process.