City of Dearborn Department of Public Health
Executive Summary
The Dearborn Department of Public Health (DPH) was formally launched in April 2022, becoming only the second city in Michigan with a public health department, and the first to do so voluntarily. The Department was founded on the principle of “Health in All Policies.” Health in All Policies is a collaborative approach to improving the health of all people by incorporating health considerations into decision-making across sectors and policy areas. The goal of Health in All Policies is to ensure that all decision-makers are informed about the health, equity, and sustainability consequences of various policy options during the policy development
Process.
P3E student fellows supported a range of Dearborn DPH priorities in areas including environmental health, behavioral health, and health communications. Fellows spent time conducting a landscape analysis and raising awareness about the impacts of lead on Dearborn residents (specifically from service lines and paint). Fellows collaborated with both internal and external partners to ensure a Health in All policy approach and built culturally sensitive outreach materials (including informational websites, door-hangers, and handouts) designed to be accessible to a diverse range of residents. Additionally, fellows conducted research on the best general health practices for children aged 3 to 5 on topics ranging from water safety to mental health. Fellows then worked to create informational materials to best communicate relevant child health resources to Dearborn parents, mindful of the fact that many Dearborn residents speak English as a second language.