Overview

Nebraska is in the Midwestern region of the United States and has a population of 1.9 million people. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is a superagency with a state Division of Public Health that partners with decentralized local and Tribal health departments to comprise the governmental public health system in the state. Nebraska’s governmental public health system aims to help its community members live better lives.

Key Highlights

Representatives from Nebraska’s governmental public health system (state, local, and Tribal health departments) gathered to explore the current reality of relationships between entities that make up the governmental public health system, identify opportunities for improvement, and to craft a vision for the future.

Nebraska recently formed a Health Equity Taskforce to strengthen statewide efforts to advance equity in Nebraska. The Taskforce has completed assessment activities and is working to develop a framework to enhance health equity throughout the state. Based on preliminary findings from the Taskforce, local health departments are coordinating their statewide health assessment of minority communities and identifying a shared goal for the next two years.

During the 2022 legislative session, the state public health agency made an attempt to update and revise the statute that guides the sharing of public health data. This is a necessary first step in data modernization efforts. Though the revision attempt did not pass, the state public health agency learned many lessons through the process.