Methods
Survey Sample and Design
The Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), developed and conducted a formal online and anonymous survey of all LHDs in New England. Specifically, the directors of the LHDs were surveyed after being identified from the NACCHO Program Directory. Six hundred and sixty-three LHDs were surveyed in the New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont). Based on an extensive literature and website review of public health curricula in academic institutions and educational services of a LHD, survey questions were developed regarding how such public health
system partnerships between academia (defined as two- and four-year undergraduate colleges and universities) and LHD practitioners can facilitate public health education and contribute to the public health workforce. The survey was pilot tested nationally among a small group of LHD
directors and public health faculty. The survey was subsequently revised where appropriate for clarification purposes.