Volume 1, Number 3 - December 1997/January 1998
The Assessment Protocol for Excellence in Public Health (APEXPH) is a process for assessing and improving a community's health status. APEXPH was developed by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). Like Safe Communities, APEXPH relies on multiple sources of local data, a broad community partnership, and a comprehensive process from problem identification through evaluation. APEXPH is available as a workbook containing instructions, flowcharts, and worksheets. A second volume includes supplementary materials (such as suggestions for working with the media), as well as case studies of how APEXPH has been used.
The Jefferson County (Kentucky) Board of Health established a committee that utilized APEXPH, along with other tools, to examine motor vehicle injuries and other indicators of health status. Terry Richardson, administrator of the Health Department's Office of Community Health Research and Epidemiology, explained that "the county was actually doing quite well. Jefferson County has lower rates of motor vehicle crash deaths than the state and the nation. The county had already met the related goals in Healthy People 2000. However, using a formula supplied by NHTSA, we found that the annual financial impact of motor vehicle crashes in Jefferson County was in the neighborhood of
$500 million."
The committee reviewed the assessment data, as well as the injury prevention literature, and made recommendations for reducing the rate of motor vehicle injuries. The Louisville and Jefferson County Board of Health supported the committee's three major recommendations: (1) graduated licensing for teen drivers, (2) zero tolerance for alcohol use by drivers under 21, and (3) primary enforcement of seat belt laws. These recommendations were advocated at the state level. Legislation was drafted and passed, bringing graduated licensing and zero tolerance to the entire state.
Richardson anticipates additional action on these issues, but only when it can be based on the data. "There has been some movement to modify these laws, but the Board of Health is resisting such changes until there is time to measure the impact of the current law. At this point, it is too soon to tell if these laws have had an effect."
NACCHO is developing APEXPH software, as well as an expanded version of the process called Assessment and Planning Excellence Through Community Partners for Health (APEXCPH). For information on APEXPH, including how to purchase it, contact Liza Centra, APEXPH Project Manager, NACCHO, 440 First Street NW, Washington, DC 20001. Telephone: (202) 783-5550; e-mail: lcentra@naccho.org. Information is also available on the World Wide Web at http://www.naccho.org.
http://www.edc.org/buildingsafecommunities/vol1_3/phas.htm
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IN THIS ISSUE
Using Data to Build a Safe Community
North Carolina Safe Communities Needs Assessment
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