DETERMINANTS OF US LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT EXPENDITURES, 1992 THROUGH1993

Objectives. This study examined local health department expenditures a nd their relationship to several departmental characteristics, includi ng the size of the population in the department's jurisdiction. Method s. Local health department characteristics were obtained from a 1992/9 3 nationwide mail survey and modeled by means of multiple linear regre ssion. Results. Great variability existed in the per capita expenditur es of local health departments, and approximately 70% of the variabili ty was accounted for by differences in jurisdiction population size. A dditional characteristics of the health departments explained another 11%. The average unadjusted per capita expenditure by local health dep artments nationwide was $26. Conclusions. Local health department expe nditures that support essential public health services average a dime a day per person.