Local health department food safety and sanitation expenditures and reductions in enteric disease, 2000-2010

B. Bekemeier, M.P.-Y. Yip, M.D. Dunbar, G. Whitman and T. Kwan-Gett

American Journal of Public Health, 2015, vol. 105, S345-S352

Abstract: Objectives: In collaboration with Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks, we investigated relationships between local health department (LHD) food safety and sanitation expenditures and reported enteric disease rates. Methods: We combined annual infection rates for the common notifiable enteric diseases with uniquely detailed, LHD-level food safety and sanitation annual expenditure data obtained from Washington and New York state health departments. We used a multivariate panel time-series design to examine ecologic relationships between 2000-2010 local food safety and sanitation expenditures and enteric diseases. Our study population consisted of 72 LHDs (mostly serving county-level jurisdictions) in Washington and New York. Results: While controlling for other factors, we found significant associations between higher LHD food and sanitation spending and a lower incidence of salmonellosis in Washington and a lower incidence of cryptosporidiosis in New York. Conclusions: Local public health expenditures on food and sanitation services are important because of their association with certain health indicators. Our study supports the need for program-specific LHD service-related data to measure the cost, performance, and outcomes of prevention efforts to inform practice and policymaking.

Keywords: cryptosporidiosis; economics; food safety; government; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections; hepatitis A; human; public health service; sanitation; United States, Cryptosporidiosis; Food Safety; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections; Hepatitis A; Humans; Local Government; New York; Public Health Administration; Sanitation; Washington (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2015.302555_0

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302555

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