North Carolina Institute for Public Health

Roles and Responsibilities of Local Public Health Governing Boards

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  • 135 Dauer Drive
  • 221 Rosenau Hall, CB #8165
  • Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8165
  • (919) 966-3309

About This Training

This training module, which is made up of three lessons, provides an introduction to the key roles and responsibilities that North Carolina local boards of health are charged with.

Lesson 1 provides an overview of key concepts in public health, including major accomplishments of public health, current challenges and the relationship between the work of local boards of health and the core functions and 10 essential services of public health.

Lesson 2 focuses on the sources of public health law in North Carolina and the legal responsibilities and authority of public health in North Carolina as distributed to local health departments, health directors and boards of health.

Lesson 3 describes different possible structures for local public health governing boards and variations in authorities as well as governance strategies for serving as an effective board of health member.

The recommended prerequisite for all new public health governing board members is Introduction to Public Health in North Carolina. Other trainings for boards of health are available on the page Boards of Health Training Offerings.

This training meets N.C. Local Health Department Accreditation requirements for orientation training for new board of health members and is suitable for local boards of health as well as county commissioners and consolidated human service agencies who have local public health governing authority.

Note: This digital content is available for no charge.

Training Links

Google Chrome and Firefox are recommended browsers for viewing. However, the evaluation should NOT be completed in Chrome due to issues with downloading the completion certificate.