Developing Solutions to the Challenges Public Health Organizations Face in 2011Using Tree Diagrams and the Prioritization Matrix of the Advanced Tools of QI

This interactive workshop will allow participants to experience how using the Advanced Tools of Quality Improvement (QI) can used to better understand how to leverage the power and reach of public health. When we are confronted with complex community health issues or problems, we need to be able to analyze a lot of information quickly and efficiently to make the best possible decisions to solve the issues or problems. The Advanced Tools of QI can be used to help synthesize lots of information, identify the critical pieces to focus on, help understand what community partners should be involved, and guide the decision making process.

When these Advanced Tools of QI are used in a defined sequence they form a dynamic decision making process that continually synthesizes information, refines and focuses the issue/problem and identifies its critical pieces, and narrows the scope and the approach to solve the issue/problem successfully. Good decisions cause other good decisions to happen. The end result is better alignment, accountability, and performance within a health department which in turn can help leverage both the power and reach of public health.

Last year we conducted a workshop using two of the Advanced Tools of QI (Affinity Diagramming and ID Graph) to identify and prioritize challenges confronting public health organizations. This year's workshop will use two different Advanced Tools of QI (Tree Diagrams and a Prioritization Matrix) to show participants how to develop and prioritize solutions to those challenges.