Directors of Health Promotion and Education

Membership Services Survey

November 2005

Executive Summary

Dramatic changes have occurred in the health promotion and public health education profession in the last 3 to 5 years; thereby affecting many DHPE members. Coupled with funding cuts in state, federal and departmental levels, members have redirected their resources, changed procedures or simply cut some of their programs. DHPE conducted its last membership survey in 2000. In 2005, it has decided to “take the temperature” once again in order to determine members’ perception of the value of membership. The survey was directed to DHPE voting members. In addition, DHPE hopes to obtain a more up-to-date profile of membership, as many voting members have changed careers, retired and transferred to other positions within or outside their organizations. The survey focuses on determining the value of member benefits and program offerings. More importantly, the survey is expected to yield results on member satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with DHPE offerings and services. With numerous associations seemingly serving similar purposes to many professionals and organizations, the decision to belong is likely determined by answering the question “what do I get for becoming a member or renewing my dues?” or “what’s in it for me as a professional?”

DHPE is pleased to present the results of the 2005 membership survey. It was conducted during the period November 3-18, 2005 under the leadership of the Membership Services Committee. A total of 48 voting members were surveyed. Thirty-seven (37) members responded or a 77% response rate.

Key Summary Points (Research statistics discussed under separate heading)

Ø A majority of respondents reported having been affected by re-organization.

Ø A majority of respondents reported decreasing programs and resources.

Ø Respondents unanimously agreed that funding cuts or lack of funding is the biggest challenge facing their areas of responsibility.

Ø Respondents were equally split in their responses regarding the use of member services and benefits.

Ø Respondents placed a very high value on the DHPE/CDC national conference and its program content. Networking opportunity offered by DHPE ranked high.

Ø Majority of respondents were under 51-60 years old.

Ø A large percentage of respondents declined DHPE technical assistance while the rest were utilizing it.

Overview of Research Findings

Member profile and demographics

Sixty five percent (65%) of respondents mentioned community health promotion as their primary area of responsibility (Figure 1), with “other” ranking next at 47%.

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Figure 1: “Other” included specialized responsibilities such as office administration, injury & violence prevention, tobacco control & prevention, 5-a-day program, etc. Also, some respondents “personally expressed” that “community health promotion” can include other responsibilities along with it or simply it is a standalone responsibility.

The average member tenure is 6 years; with 25 years being the longest year served and ½ year the shortest.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of respondents earned Master’s degrees; 24% has Bachelor’s degrees; 5% reported having a PhD while 6% reported “other.” A majority of the voting members is under the 51-60 age category or 43%. Twenty-seven percent (27%) is under the 41-50 range, 14% under 31-40 and 6% under 30 years old.

In areas of expertise, health and risk behavior ranked the highest at 81%; followed by “other” at 57%. Minority health has the smallest share at 16%.

DHPE Membership

A combined 51% of respondents either “frequently” (24%) or “very frequently” (27%) utilize DHPE services and benefits. Forty-three (43%) indicated they do not use them at all. Also, a combined 73% placed a higher value of their membership with 38% as “very valuable” and 35% as “valuable”. (Figure2)

FREQUENCY OF USE OF DHPE BENEFITS & SERVICES

Figure 2: Note that one of DHPE member benefits, networking opportunity, ranked the highest (49%).

When asked about the overall performance of DHPE and satisfaction towards its programs, DHPE staff performance ranked first with “excellent” and “good” ratings combining for a 78% satisfaction rate; the performance of DHPE officers and ability of DHPE to keep members current on issues were each rated “excellent” by 30% of respondents. A lower rank was given to DHPE website at 14%, but 54% indicated it was “good.” On DHPE offerings and events, the national conference was ranked “excellent” by 57%. PHELI earned a combined 65% satisfaction with “excellent” (43%) and “good” (22%). The other mentioned offerings and events were ranked favorably, too.

When asked to rank DHPE publications, “reports and summaries” were favored as “very useful” and “useful” by a total of 84%. Self-study audiotapes and self-study videotapes were ranked at the bottom of the list “as not useful” shown by a combined 36% response rate; while a combined 89% noted “N/A” or no opinion of their usability. As far as the value of DHPE activities the higher rankings were networking activities (49%); legislative and advocacy efforts (38%) and training and development (32%). Eighty-six percent (86%) of respondents attended the national conference. Their decision to attend was mainly influenced by program content, logged by 73% of respondents.

Almost all of the respondents have different opinions on the “one thing makes membership at DHPE valuable to them”. Finally, 70% of the respondents are not interested in getting technical assistance from DHPE, with the remainder either satisfied or currently utilizing it.

Issues of Interest to Members

More than half (57%) of respondents have been affected by re-organization; and near half (49%) reported decreasing funding and staff resources.

The top three significant issues for the last 3-5 years affecting the area of health promotion & health education were as follows:

• Obesity prevention
• Loss of funding at the state, federal and departmental levels
• Physical activity and nutrition issues

The top three issues presenting the biggest challenge to areas of responsibility and respective departments:

• Funding
• Staff issues such as turnover, change of administration, doing more with less, and lack of staff training
• Re-organization

The top three changes occurring within the last year affecting the implementation of health promotion and health education initiatives of respective states were:

• Funding cuts or lack of funding (such as block grant, department, general, an other areas)
• Staff cuts and staff inexperience
• Re-organization within departments and changes within state and federal governments

Health promotion and education programs

Forty one percent (41%) of respondents indicated that their program and units are functioning well, expanding and growing. “Other” was mentioned by 32% ranging from “going through and sorting out process,” “re-organization is still happening,” ”new personnel have been hired or appointed,” ”units have been transferred to a new department” and “increase in responsibilities”.

Survey Methodology

The Membership Services Committee sponsored an online membership survey directed to voting members. Survey questionnaires were sent on November 3, 2005 to 48 voting members. There were a total of 22 questions asked and survey deadline was November 18^th; however the deadline for response was extended until December 5, 2005. The survey also included open-ended questions and those requiring respondents to provide their comment if necessary. Presently, DHPE has 48 voting members, out of 55 (50 states, D.C. and 4 territories). Only 48 members who were on board were surveyed.

Thirty-seven out of 48 voting members responded to the survey yielding a 77% response rate. Individual responses to open ended questions and “other” sections were included at the end of this executive summary.

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