For the third year, NACCHO staff will attend the mHealth Summit (Dec. 8-11, 2013), the world’s largest mobile health event in the world that brings together providers, leaders, influencers and visionaries in wireless and mobile health technologies. As NACCHO looks to build mHealth programs for local health departments (LHDs) and provide technical assistance to our membership in this field, the mHealth Summit provides a unique opportunity to learn about challenges and innovation in technology.

This year at the Summit, NACCHO staff Sara Rubin will co-present a poster with UPMC Center for Health Security staff Nidhi Bouri (principal investigator) and Katie Minton. The poster summarizes a study conducted by UPMC and NACCHO to identify organizational factors that LHD staff perceive as influential in hindering or enabling LHDs’ ability to use social media and mobile technologies for preparedness. Although the American public’s use of such technologies has consistently grown in recent years, only a fraction of LHDs have adopted and used them effectively.

UPMC and NACCHO will release their final study report in January 2014. In light of this study’s findings from 65 interviews with LHD staff (n=65) and analysis of existing relevant research, the project team recommends several actions for local health practitioners and policymakers at all levels. Stay tuned for an additional blog post from the UPMC and NACCHO research team in January to share their report.