Developing and implementing health policies is a proven strategy for improving population health, and local health departments (LHDs) play a vital role in shaping healthier communities. With support from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), NACCHO provides technical assistance to help LHDs navigate the policy planning and implementation process. Participating LHDs will develop and implement policies addressing either access to care or nutrition security to improve maternal and child health. 

The first step in this process is crafting a problem statement—an essential tool that helps define and frame a public health issue to establish a clear direction for policy development. Participating LHDs collaborated with internal stakeholders to complete a template provided by NACCHO. The template allows LHDs to identify and analyze a public health issue which informs the crafting of a problem statement to inform policy approaches. This activity serves as a foundation for the policy planning and implementation process. 

NACCHO has provided a blank template to support other LHDs in replicating this activity. Template: Problem Statement Template 

This publication is supported by grant #1 U1XMC54192‐01‐00 awarded to the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the Maternal and Child Health Policy Innovation Program (MCH PIP). The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the HRSA or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.