National Association of Local Boards of Health

Partner description

The National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) is committed to strengthening and improving public health governance. NALBOH accomplishes this mission through education, training, and technical assistance initiatives.

Selected CDC-funded projects

• Environmental health: NALBOH provides awareness information, education and training, and technical assistance to boards of health and public health professionals on a variety of environmental health, tobacco use prevention and control, performance standards, and performance improvements topics. NALBOH uses its established membership base to advocate for public health at the local, state, and national level, specifically for environmental health programs that are already fragmented and vulnerable. NALBOH continues to work closely with national public health partner organizations. These collaborations and partnerships better coordinate environmental health activities and establish guidance priorities, as well as encourage board of health leadership to be actively involved in environmental health programs and initiatives.
• Guide to Community Preventive Services: NALBOH provides timely technical assistance to state, tribal, local, and territorial governmental public health agency leadership, boards of health, and their community partners in how to use evidence-based approaches and the findings and recommendations of The Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide) to address their public health goals and develop model programs. NALBOH also develops targeted and tailored education, training, and communication products for state, tribal, local, and territorial boards of health on the value, adoption, and use of evidence-based approaches, in general, and the Community Guide specifically. NALBOA works to incorporate assessment of the use of evidence-based approaches into competency development, capacity measurement, and accreditation standards, including the National Public Health Performance Standards Program, Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, and Public Health Accreditation Board.
• Tobacco use prevention and control: NALBOH awareness and marketing activities strive to increase support for boards of health for the prevention, promotion, and protection of communities nationwide to meet the goal of reducing illness, disability, and death related to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, as outlined by Healthy People 2020. NALBOH provides education, training, and technical assistance to support the active involvement of local leadership in the development of effective tobacco control activities. NALBOH collaborates to encourage board of health leadership to be actively involved in the development of tobacco control guidance and best practices, such as those contained in the Institute of Medicine’s illness, disability, and death report related to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation; to coordinate tobacco control-related activities and set guidance priorities through strong partnerships with local, state, and national organizations; and to build their board of health and health officer team to make productive strides in the tobacco control field.