Public Health and Local Comprehensive Plan; Socio-Physical, Political and Multi-Sectoral Context

Abstract

This research investigates factors affecting local governments to include public health objectives in their local comprehensive plans. Based on the governance of healthy city, our theoretical model admits that the local comprehensive plan should be a holistic approach to public health. Our analytical model takes into account local politics, intersectoral collaboration and socio-physical variables. The findings suggest that local governments are more likely to adopt health as a goal based on the degree of community wealth, population growth, and population density, . On the other hand, the degree to which local governments attain the collaboration within organizations (health and planning) and local policies expands the scope of public health provisions in comprehensive plans. While socio-physical conditions and intersectoral collaboration have a significant relationship with the inclusion of health in comprehensive plan, local politics does not.