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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2009.168831v1 100/8/1434    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Zhang, X. Articles by Albright, A. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zhang, X. Articles by Albright, A. Related Collections Diabetes Obesity, Overweight, Underweight Public Health Practice

Xinzhi Zhang, MD, PhD, Huabin Luo, PhD, Edward W. Gregg, PhD, Qaiser Mukhtar, PhD, Mark Rivera, PhD, Lawrence Barker, PhD and Ann Albright, PhD, RD

Xinzhi Zhang, Edward W. Gregg, Qaiser Mukhtar, Mark Rivera, Lawrence Barker, and Ann Albright are with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Huabin Luo is with the Department of Health Care Management, Mount Olive College, Research Triangle Park, NC.

Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to Xinzhi Zhang, MD, PhD, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE (K-10), Atlanta, GA 30341-3727 (e-mail: XZhang4{at}cdc.gov). Reprints can be purchased at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the "Reprints/Eprints" link.

Objectives. We assessed whether local health departments (LHDs) were conducting obesity prevention programs and diabetes screening programs, and we examined associations between LHD characteristics and whether they conducted these programs.

Methods. We used the 2005 National Profile of Local Health Departments to conduct a cross-sectional analysis of 2300 LHDs nationwide. We used multivariate logistic regressions to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results. Approximately 56% of LHDs had obesity prevention programs, 51% had diabetes screening programs, and 34% had both. After controlling for other factors, we found that employing health educators was significantly associated with LHDs conducting obesity prevention programs (OR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.54, 2.81) and diabetes screening programs (OR = 1.63; 95% CI = 1.23, 2.17). We also found that conducting chronic disease surveillance was significantly associated with LHDs conducting obesity prevention programs (OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.26, 2.20) and diabetes screening programs (OR = 2.44; 95% CI = 1.90, 3.15). LHDs with a higher burden of diabetes prevalence were more likely to conduct diabetes screening programs (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.11, 1.31) but not obesity prevention programs.

Conclusions. The presence of obesity prevention and diabetes screening programs was significantly associated with LHD structural capacity and general performance. However, the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of both types of programs remain unknown.